


My One Rule

by Cursedkaze, spacedragonarmada



Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Crossdressing, Depression, Guns, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Mafia AU, Multi, Sex, Smoking, Swearing, These will increase as time goes on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-15
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-03-05 02:49:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 130,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13378530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cursedkaze/pseuds/Cursedkaze, https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacedragonarmada/pseuds/spacedragonarmada
Summary: Karma is the son of a Mafia household, although his dedication to work is lacking with his childish antics. Nagisa is an assassin for the Yakuza who has trouble with people skills. The two are brought together in an effort to bring out the best in one another. Will it work? Stay tuned to find out.





	1. December

**Author's Note:**

> This is a multichapter fiction that took a year to create. Please understand we will not be posting the entire fiction to AO3, we will however, be posting a significant portion for you to enjoy. We hope you enjoy this as much as we have come to.

Karma Akabane was bored.

This was his base state of being; his life consisted of long periods of boredom broken up by brief periods of excitement. 

He was also plotting but this wasn’t anything unusual and it certainly wasn’t a source of entertainment. It was just part of the background noise of his brain. 

With one hand he played his 3DS. With the other he stroked his knife and this wasn’t a euphemism. It was a long flick-knife with a handle of deer antler and a blade he kept gleaming and sharp. He tossed it end over end, the blade making a silver fan in the air though he wasn’t looking at it. 

He sighed. 

He was kind of hoping for some sort of assassination attempt to distract him from his boredom. His usual game of teasing his bodyguard had resulted in another win for him. He added yet another tally to his count of bodyguards he had driven away and returned to his solitary boredom. 

In fact it had been a while since something last got his heart thumping. He’d joined this business for that but so far the highs had been higher and the lows longer. 

He tapped the A button rapidly. His tiny pixelated character slices equally pixelated monsters in half with his sword. His gun holsters shifted under his suit as he sighs. 

He could always tease Terasaka. The dumb ox couldn’t do anything about it but it was like shooting fish in a barrel (something he had actually tried). He found the comparison apt; it was fun at first but mostly because of how easy it was. It wouldn’t do anything to stop him being bored, just spread his misery around. Maybe after one more level… 

As he clicks away he hears faintly through his floorboards the ring of his doorbell. This is hardly unusual and therefore a telling sign of his boredom when he sits up and shuts off his game. 

His ‘sponsor’ (who Karma privately thought of as Don Octopus) had grown tired of his ‘selection criteria’ for a bodyguard and sent one of his own men. Karma tossed his flick-knife end over end again, catching it by its handle without as much as a sideways glance. 

He was looking forward to making a tattooed professional killer cry. 

Letting the game fall back onto his bed he rolls off and out the door without making a sound on the polished floorboards. Equally soundless he walks to where a small balcony overlooked the foyer. 

The man standing at the door is more straight-laced than Karma was expecting. The last bodyguard his father had hired was a tall intimidating guy with a barbed wire tattoo around his neck. Karma had made him quit in two weeks. He could have done it in five days but where was the fun in that? 

This guy though, in his business suit and tie, looked all professionalism. No tattoos that showed (though he would totally have them), no hair dye in his short black hair and a face that looked in danger of cracking if he smiled. Karma would play off that professionalism, make him sacrifice his dignity with increasingly more humiliating orders until he snapped. That was always entertaining but it wasn’t anything new. 

His father finally notices him. Karma’s surprised no-one has managed to knock him off yet but his father was satisfied with by-the-books types for his own protection. Karma never did anything by the book which is why when his father gestures for him to come meet his guests he does not turn around and head down stairs but sneer down at them then vault the balcony. For a half second he catches the small protruding lip behind the railing to slow his fall then his heels hit the marble and he straightens up. 

Somehow there was someone else there he hadn’t noticed wearing a suit equally neat but in a different cut. Their hair is dyed but a nondescript shade of blue that didn’t stand out and tied up in fluffy bunches. Though Karma would hazard a guess they were about the same age they had a soft rounded face that meant they always looked younger than they were and large innocent-looking blue eyes. The only thing that stands out about them is their androgyny. Karma can’t tell if he is looking at a flat-chested girl or a slender guy. 

They stick close to the middle-aged man’s side, looking around carefully at the interior of the mansion. Some kind of student? Another body guarding client? If that is the case Karma can skip straight to the fun stuff, no matter what was in the androgynous youth’s pants there was nothing like your client seducing your student to put a bodyguard off their stride. Maybe he could even teach them some tricks, put a sparkle of sin in those innocent blue eyes…

Karma flicks out the knife blade and in one easy motion tosses it towards their ‘guests’. 

He is surprised to find his initial assessment of the situation proven wrong when it isn’t the tall middle-aged man in the tailored suit that steps forwards. 

The androgynous youth takes a step into the path of the knife, grapping it by its stag horn handle right before it skewers them through the eye, and sweeps around in a curve to press the flat of the blade firmly against Karma’s jugular vein. 

A rush of fear sweeps over him, as if what he had dismissed as a stick had turned into a serpent wrapping around his throat. Immediately afterwards that fear turns to anger. He has to replace events three times in his head before he’s sure he’s grasped what happened, how the Yazuka member had made him look a fool. 

“You shouldn’t be carrying a weapon you don’t know how to properly use Akabane-san.” A voice in his ear gently chides him. 

While they were slender it’s clear from the arm against his throat it was all muscle like an acrobat. Speed and control over power. The androgynous youth presses against his back and Karma can feel how easy it would be for them to kick his knees out from under him, twist the knife and let his own body weight slit his throat. 

After a heartbeat the knife is pulled back, whirled around and tucked into the pocket of the youth’s suit jacket and the shoulders of Karma’s jacket dusted. 

“My name is Nagisa Shiota.” A light, calm kind of voice but Karma places him as male. “I will be working with you as a bodyguard until the end of contract at this time next year.” 

The boy bows, his posture perfectly demure enough to nearly but not quite distract from the fact he took his fucking knife! 

“I look forward to working with you.” His Yazuka bodyguard, Nagisa, smiles as perfectly as a doll. 

Karma Akabane had never felt such a deep, natural loathing of anyone his father had hired before. He was going to drive this one out and not just because it was his usual game. This time it was personal. 

He was going to make him suffer. 

So Karma Akabane smiled with the sweetness of the devil, a smile that those who had been subject to his boredom (i.e. Terasaka) would know to flee from, and shook the Yazuka’s hand. 

“Nice to be working with you.” He lies between his perfect white teeth and his grin widens to show more teeth than is friendly. 

Karma does not sneer. He does not plot or threaten. He feels his neck and re-evaluates his strategy and, to his surprise, he can feel his heart once again start to beat faster. 

This…was exciting. 

He had to admit it. This was something he could sink his teeth into. 

Dislike was his default reaction to his bodyguards, who limited his fun and were entirely without humour. He’d been handling himself long before his father became worried about him needing protection and he had everything sorted the way he wanted it. Bodyguards always wanted to stop him beating up delinquents or putting chilli up people’s noses. He could swear they were never satisfied until everyone was as boring as they were. 

Nagisa wasn’t boring. The Assassin Bodyguard follows him out the door and to the garage. 

First of all he was Yazuka rather than hired from a private security company. The group that funded his fun was one of the larger and more powerful of the area. They provided him seed money for men and weapons and he paid back the investment plus ten percent and the rest went in his pocket. He had proven his worth with a couple of highly successful ventures and got bigger investments for his plans, provided he never went big enough to threaten the interests of the group of course. 

They had never been interested in limiting his fun before and Karma got the strong sense they had sent Nagisa to protect their investment rather than protect him. They had just ‘donated’ a few million towards his latest project; taking back three city blocks of territory from another group. 

The other bodyguards had been cautious, treating him as an objective to be defended instead of a person. They never would have caught the knife. Nagisa hadn’t been trained in the same way as those sober men in their tightly fitted suits. It was obvious from the way he moved. It was too fluid, too flexible to be the motions of someone used to defending others. 

No, it was obvious to Karma that the Yazuka had sent an assassin to keep him in line. The worst part is he fell for it! It is that fact that made him grind his teeth in irritation. He had fallen for little Mr. Harmless’s innocent act hook, line, and sinker! If it had been a serious assassination attempt he would have been done in by his own knife. 

Behind his placid smile (that fooled no-one) Karma Akabane’s thoughts swung between rage and thoughts of his knife. The knife was his own property, he had won it legitimately and stealing was wrong. He was going to have to teach his new bodyguard respect for other people’s property. 

The usual background plotting pulls up a familiar strategy. First he is going to see what got under his new bodyguard’s skin. Generally this took about a week for Karma to cycle through his tricks until he found something useable. If he found it early, well he continued through the week just in case something better came up. He preferred quality over quantity in his tormenting. 

“We have a meeting soon Nagisa-kun.” Even though the Yazuka assassin can’t be too much younger than he is Karma still refuses to call him with the san honorific. 

“I have been briefed.” Nagisa says politely, shutting down further conversation while being humble enough that any attempt to continue talking would mark Karma as deliberately ignoring him. 

Karma keeps his irritation internal as he signals to Terasaka to start up the car and finds a very specific cardboard box. 

“So then you’ll already know you need a uniform and a cover story for this meeting. We ordered the uniform before your arrival.” 

Dramatically he pulls open the cardboard box and pushes the neatly folded bundle of clothing into Nagisa’s hands. 

“Oh would you look at that, seems like they sent a girl’s uniform by mistake.” Karma grins like the devil. Nagisa can practically see the horns peeping through his hair. 

There had in fact been two boxes delivered, one female and one male cut suits but he stealthily shoves the man’s suit in Nagisa’s size fully under the shelves. With luck it will never have to be used…

“Guess you’ll have to wear this one.” Karma’s grin is one that brooks no argument. 

This gets an actual physical reaction out of Nagisa despite his professional air. He slumps a fraction, a brief look of dejection passing over his delicate features. Inwardly Karma crows in triumph at getting a reaction. It looks like his gender was a sore point for the Yazuka assassin. 

“Just until the correct uniform arrives.” Nagisa tells him primly but Karma merely jerks his thumb to the side. 

“Go get changed, I won’t be late because of you.” Karma shuts him down and is pleased to note a droop of defeat in the Yazuka boy’s shoulders as he goes to change. 

It had been a gamble but he was right; Nagisa was technically being employed by him and that meant he couldn’t just ignore his orders. 

Karma always presses his advantage at the first sign of weakness. 

“You need a cover story too.” Karma calls out to him. “I know, you can be my girlfriend.” 

With a dejected sigh Nagisa steps out from behind the boxes, brushing off the box pleats with his hands as he stands. 

He makes a pretty cute girl, that round face was too soft and innocent for Karma to take him seriously but there was no way Karma wasn’t going to rub it in. 

“Pretty cute but you know you’d be cuter with your hair down.” Karma reaches forward and tugs out Nagisa’s hair ties (more roughly than is necessary) and the light blue dyed hair falls in waves around his shoulders. 

“See?” Karma runs his fingers through it. Pretty soft…

Nagisa is looking away like a blushing schoolgirl, his legs crossed coquettishly in the best tradition of romance manga clichés. 

“Karma-kun…” Even his voice is coy as he leans in closer. “Usually I put my hair down when I’m about to kill someone.” 

Karma skitters backwards like someone dropped a spider in front of him. Nagisa’s smug little smirk is unmistakeable. So that’s how he’s going to play it…

Karma dramatically holds the door open for his ‘date’, playing up the chivalrous gentleman act but as Nagisa sits and smoothes out the pleated skirt it is obvious this isn’t the first time he’s done this. 

He’ll have to try harder. 

Nagisa climbs into the car. The black stockings cling close to his thighs but leave a pale gap of skin between them and the hem of the skirt as he sits down. He sits neatly with legs folded and his hands in his lap. 

Karma flops down beside him. He spreads out across more of the seat than he strictly needs to out of sheer annoyance. He has already discarded the possibility of teasing Nagisa further, despite the show he had put on earlier the Yazuka assassin doesn’t seem phased in the slightest by the skirt. 

It was bound to happen sometime Karma reminds himself as Terasaka pulls out of the driveway. He had planned for this contingency; it had just been a while since he had a worthy opponent who wasn’t named Asano. 

He contents himself with taking up more space in the seat than he needs to, a more passive-aggressive psychological tactic to make Nagisa feel trapped. The Yazuka member responds by looking out of the window the entire way without as much as making eye contact with him. 

Karma doesn’t like being ignored. He reaches his hand across the seat towards the dark stockings and under the hem of the skirt. 

He touches the ridged handle of a combat knife instead of skin and wisely decides to withdraw his hand with the Assassin apparently none the wiser. 

To disguise the motion and vent his own frustration Karma raps on the panel of sliding glass that separates them from the driver. 

“Hey Terasaka!” 

A crackly voice issues from the speaker beneath the window. 

“Stop doing that, you’re going to make us crash if you keep breaking my concentration.” The driver’s voice comes in over the intercom. 

“Nah, because a dumb ox like you can’t concentrate in the first place.” Karma sticks out his tongue and delivers a vicious kick to the back of the driver’s seat. “I want a cheeseburger.” 

A static tinged sigh issues from the speaker and the limousine takes a sharp right at the intersection. Nagisa has to hold onto the door to stop himself from sliding down the leather seats. 

“What?” He asks, looking utterly confused past his long bangs. 

“McDonald’s not Burger King.” Karma punctuates his sentence with another kick. 

The driver Terasaka growls and yanks at the steering wheel again. 

“But the meeting!” Nagisa protests and clings tightly to the doorframe as the car speeds up. 

Terasaka approaches an intersection just as the lights are changing and speeds up to pull the long body of the car through right before the light turns red, leaning on the horn the whole way. 

“Cheeseburger~” Karma calls out in a sing-song voice as his bodyguard looks completely confused by this turn of events. 

Point to him. Nagisa’s façade of professionalism has been broken down and he is staring at his new employer with the dawning revelation that he is, in fact, a giant eight year old. 

Terasaka eases up on the accelerator as they pull into the drivethrough. He’s swearing and grumbling under his breath as they pull up to the ordering window, though it’s impossible to make out more than general tone through the intercom. 

“Hurry up and order before we’re late.” The driver scolds him. “And get me a-”

Karma turns off the intercom before Terasaka can order and winds down his window, leaning over Nagisa’s lap to stick his head out the window. Nagisa has no idea where to put his hands. 

“I want a Mcchicken combo with cheese, hold the mayonnaise and coke as a drink, upgrade to large fries and drink and a mcnuggets happy meal.” Karma rattles off his order. 

“I thought you wanted a cheeseburger?” Nagisa tries to shove him off his leg. 

“Changed my mind~” Karma replies in the same singsong. “Do you still do the chilli salted fries?” 

“Sorry, that promotion has been discontinued. You can upgrade to cheese and bacon fries for another $1.50.” The person at the other end of the ordering window tells him. 

Karma pauses for a moment to think about it, Nagisa struggling to find a position that means Karma isn’t in danger of crushing him. 

“Nah, just regular fries. Nagisa, what do you want?” 

“Huh?” Karma could get used to that expression of extreme befuddlement. 

“Come on, we don’t have all day to wait for your order.” Karma says with an extremely patronizing smile. 

“Uh…Vanilla milkshake?” Nagisa blurts out the first thing that comes to mind. 

Karma rolls his eyes. 

“And to eat?” He asks. 

“Just the shake.” Nagisa says firmly. 

Karma withdraws from the window enough that he is still pinning Nagisa against the seat and grabs one of his cheeks. 

“Look at you, you’re so thin. You can’t afford to skip meals you know.” He says with mock concern. “They have low-fat options if you want to see the Healthy Choices menu.” 

Nagisa snorts and turns his head to the side. 

“Cheeseburger then?” 

“Regular or double?” Karma immediately asks. 

“Regular.” The irritation in Nagisa’s voice is evident. 

“Sure you don’t want it as a combo…?” Karma starts to ask and Nagisa shoves him. 

“And a cheeseburger and vanilla milkshake for my girlfriend.” Karma adds and leans back. 

“Is that a regular or large vanilla shake?” 

“Regular.” Nagisa leans out the window to order before Karma can take the opportunity to lean back over again. 

Karma kicks Terasaka’s chair again to let them know they’re done ordering and the limo pulls forwards as far as it is able. 

“Is this really necessary?” Nagisa asks the grinning Karma. 

“Can’t negotiate on an empty stomach.” Karma says in a tone of utmost seriousness. 

“What about the meeting?” Nagisa points out. 

He is trying to sound professional but Karma’s gamble has paid off. No professional trained for this kind of situation and as much as Nagisa is trying to hide he is clearly feeling wrong-footed. 

“Oh, we’re going to be late for that.” Karma says dismissively. 

Nagisa sits up straight in his chair. 

“What?!” 

“Oh I’m always late. It’s somewhat of a trademark of mine.” Karma undoes the window and leans over again to take their food. “Terasaka, I got you your happy meal~!”

“Fuck you.” The driver tells him sincerely before reaching through the window for the bag. 

“Eat up.” Karma tosses Nagisa his burger before pulling out his own and carefully unwrapping it. “If they messed up my order we’re going to have to go back…”

“What? No, we have to go to the meeting.” Nagisa tries to protest. 

Karma takes a bite of his burger. 

“Looks like it’s all here.” He says through a mouthful of food and offers the fries to Nagisa. 

“I’m not hungry.” His bodyguard says icily. 

“Well if you’re not finished by the time we arrive we’re going to have to wait for you.” Karma points out. 

Nagisa immediately shoves the burger in his mouth and Karma awards himself an extra point. Now they’re even…

By the time they actually pull into the parking lot of the bar Nagisa is looking sufficiently cowed for Karma’s tastes and, thanks to his own clever planning and outright lies, they are only five minutes late. 

Karma waves to a heavily set ‘waiter’ standing outside the door next to the kitchen and he steps aside to let them past. Instead of walking past Karma stops in front of him and attempts to order a bottle of white wine and some candles for their ‘romantic first date’ before Nagisa physically drags him into the room. 

With a smug smirk Karma lets him. 

The room behind the bar is the typical smoky den; one of the gang leaders is smoking at the table with a knife in one hand and a bottle of alcohol in the other. 

A round table has been set up in the middle of the room with eight chairs spaces equidistant from each other, presumably for playing cards. 

Three of them were empty. 

Nagisa knows from his files that the absent chairs mean that Chiba and Hayami and the gunrunner Red Eye weren’t there. Annoying, he had met them both before. Red Eye had sold him the pistol he was wearing against his thigh, under the annoyingly short skirt. It had been just the kind he liked, small but powerful and completely untraceable. He wanted to thank him in person for it. 

Looking across the table while trying to appear curious rather than calculating he meets the gaze of Karasuma-sensei, here representing the Yazuka sect. 

Korosensei had shown up for meetings once upon a time. Technically the entire territory was owned by him but they dealt in much higher ranked and untraceable crimes. They allowed others to operate at the street level, provided they asked for permission and reported their progress. 

He hadn’t been able to show up personally for a while now and everyone had gotten used to Karasuma being sent in his stead. The rumours were he was afraid of being assassinated if he left the mountain…

Karasuma was wearing the same suit, naturally, but with the sleeves rolled up to his shoulders to expose the tattoos of the Yatagarasu that decorated his arms and make him look a lot more intimidating. Nagisa still can’t help but be fascinated by the inked black feathers of the great crow as it clutched at the black-sheathed tanto knife with its three clawed feet. 

Nagisa is officially affiliated with the Akabane family now rather than being under Korosensei’s protection. If Karma tries something stupid enough Karasuma will fight and maybe kill him. Nagisa isn’t sure how to feel about that. The ex-military hitman had been his first teacher and he didn’t particularly like Karma. 

On the other side of them is Rio. He knows her too, though only from her file. Her rise to power had been meteoric, accomplished with a minimum of bloodshed and a maximum of threatened violence. If he had been contracted a few years earlier she wouldn’t have been sitting at this table. She smiles at him as he enters and Nagisa sighs internally. His disguise is successful he guesses. 

As it was Karma pulls back his chair and sits down, gesturing for Nagisa to come over next to him. 

Nagisa goes to take up the default stance of a bodyguard, standing behind the chair of his client where he can observe the whole table. Karma stops him with a smile that would seem genuine to anyone who hadn’t already seen the satan in his eyes. 

Karma pulls the chair back a subtle fraction and with a heavy internalized sigh Nagisa remembers his ‘cover’ and sits on his lap. 

“Eeeey this one’s cute.” Rio turns towards them as Karma puts his hand around Nagisa’s waist. 

“Isn’t she?” Karma replies with a small smile. 

He’s a perfect actor. Nagisa himself might have been fooled if Karma hadn’t made it clear earlier that he was trying to get rid of him. 

The smoking gang leader blows out a cloud of smoke. Nagisa wishes he was standing in the corner smoking a quiet cigarette himself. 

“Hey there gorgeous.” He leers and slaps one thigh. “How about you sit on a real man’s lap.” 

“I’ll tell you when I see one.” Nagisa replies and sees a stirring of interest around the table. 

Rio laughs behind a hand as the West side gang leader, Ryuki that was his name, spits out his cigarette and his leer turns into a sneer. 

On the other side the final leader and perhaps the most dangerous, save Karasuma, meet his eyes and nods slightly to acknowledge the subtlety with which he had insulted Karma. 

Gakushu Asano, the golden boy of the North side. With his suit and the stacks of papers in front of him he looks more like an intern for a high-end company than a gang leader. Like Karma, crime was a hobby for him, like Karma he was wealthy and well-connected enough to drop out any time he got bored, and like Karma he was too smart for his own good. Nagisa isn’t sure his disguise is holding against him but he turns his attention back to his papers where his fingers move with a terrifying speed as he writes out his agenda for the meeting in a neat, legible script. Nagisa can’t see enough to read what he is writing but it has not suffered a jot for him not looking at it. Likely his returned ‘attention’ was a feint. 

Karma smiles at him but Nagisa has seen fake smiles before and this one had the glassy stretched quality of one forcing themselves to smile rather than have it come naturally. 

He jolts Nagisa around, manhandling him into a position where they are face to face rather than letting him continue his observation of the room. 

“Now, now Nagisa, we are supposed to be pretending to get along. Are you really going to sacrifice this contract for a few harsh words?” Karma whispers in his ear, making sure Nagisa’s long hair covers his lips to prevent his words from being read. 

The assassin sighs internally. Karma was right but he was still bitter about it. 

“Play nice.” Karma whispers and his hand slips up the short skirt more aggressively and cups him through the fabric of his underwear. “And I might pay to get it snipped for you.” 

Nagisa visibly stiffens. Karma scores another point on his part. 

The assassin looks down at him. 

Somehow without actually changing his expression Nagisa can see the mockery in his grin. He could have sprouted horns and a tail in that moment and they wouldn’t have been out of place and Nagisa feels the bolt drive home. He feels genuinely wounded by Karma’s words, by this position and he can see in the dumb smugness of Karma’s grin he doesn’t know why but he thinks he has won. 

For a normal bodyguard this would be the point where their composure broke and they lashed, cursing out their client in front of the group but Nagisa’s anger wasn’t a firework, it was the focused cutting point of a thermic lance. Before Nagisa had been trying to keep himself above his client’s game but with that one snide remark Karma had made this personal. 

So instead of socking him one and storming off as he would greatly like to do, Nagisa summons up his inner Bitch-Sensei and gives the squeal of a scandalized schoolgirl and holds his skirt down. 

“Aah, Ka-chan!” He yelps with just enough of a hint of injured innocence to win over the rest of the table. “Feeling me up in front of everyone. You’re such a pervert.” 

As he had hoped Rio takes the chance to come to another girl’s defence. 

“Yeah, that’s really low Karma.” She says with an expression of distaste. 

Now that someone else has put in their protests first the rest of the table murmurs their agreement with varying degrees of venom. 

Gakushu puts down his pen and looks up from his papers, interlocking his fingers and looking over them like a teacher about to announce a bad grade. 

“Don’t tell me you bought this lovely young woman here just to abuse her in public… Ka-chan.” 

Karma bites his lower lip but he can’t stop a blush from starting to spread across his cheeks at the unexpected dose of public humiliation. Now he can’t tease Nagisa without losing more standing with the rest of the table. 

To add insult to injury Nagisa bats his eyelashes and leans against him. 

“He’s so mean sometimes!” He whines while pressing up against Karma. “He’s always pushing me around and teasing me.” There is a pause as Nagisa surveys the rest of the group and leans in with a low whisper. “Do you think maybe he’s compensating for something?” 

“O.k. that’s enough.” Karma interrupts, well aware of the mocking eyes now fixed on him. “Why don’t you wait in the corner until we’re done?” 

Nagisa pouts, well aware of how much of an advantage acting the airhead could give you. 

“There’s no need to get grumpy Ka-chan, you’re still super cute~” He teases him. “We all know you only invited me so you could show off your super sexy girlfriend to all of your friends.” 

Instead of doing as he was told Nagisa leans over the table in a way that causes his skirt to outline his ass and thighs. 

“Nice to meet you all. I’m Nagisa Shiota.” He says with a sweet smile as he offers a hand to shake. As he leans in the collar of his shirt slips down enough to draw the eyes of every male in the room, save Karasuma, to the curve of his neck running down to the almost exposed chest. 

“I hope he hasn’t been treating you too badly.” Rio tells Nagisa as she shakes his hand. 

Nagisa gives her a mega-watt smile. 

“Oh Ka-chan’s a puppy dog really when he’s not trying to act like a tough guy and show off.” He tells her and she smiles back. 

When he gets to shaking Gakushu’s hand the blonde gang leader lightly takes his hand and presses a princely kiss to it. 

Nagisa giggles. 

“Oh aren’t you a proper gentleman.” He bats his eyelashes at him. 

“I hope you don’t let Karma sour your view of our organization.” Gakushu tells him politely. “Do inform us if he is being unduly bothersome and we’ll get things straightened out for you.” 

Nagisa makes his smile kinder and more innocent in response to his words. 

“That’s sweet of you. Thank you.” 

Nagisa doesn’t have time to double-check but he thinks that a faint blush might have passed across Gakushu’s cheeks. 

With a swing of his hips Nagisa struts back over to Karma’s chair and leans over it in a way that would be very provocative if he had the bust for it. He still manages to pull off a general air of seductiveness thanks to Bitch-Sensei’s training. 

He leans against the back of the chair and pulls out his lighter and a pack of cigarettes. Karma reaches up and pulls the cigarette out of his mouth then when he pouts takes the lighter too. 

“Come on Ka-chan, he’s smoking.” Nagisa points out Ryuki and pouts cutely, leaning over to wrap his arms around Karma, whose face is rapidly shading to match his hair. 

“Yeah, you got a problem with my smokes pipsqueak?” The leader of the west side blows a cloud of smoke in Karma’s face. 

Karma tries not to cough and tilts his chair to glare down at him. 

“I don’t want your shitty smoke giving me cancer.” He says mockingly. 

Nagisa wraps his arms around Karma’s neck. 

“Awww Ka-chan don’t fight.” He says cutely. 

“Yeah, listen to the girl.” Ryuki leers. “You’re way outta your depth you little shit!” 

“Both of you cut it out.” Gakushu tells them. “We have business to attend to.” 

“Right, business.” Ryuki spits and takes another drag of his cigarette. 

Nagisa watched, leaning over Karma’s chair in a provocative way where he could curiously peek in on proceedings without looking like he was memorizing every scrap of paper that passed the table. Any time it looked like Karma was regaining his confidence Nagisa would wrap his arms around him, put on his sickly sweet voice and ask for the definition of a mafia term or make demands. Ryuki sniggered and called him whipped but Karma wasn’t allowed enough time to think of a way to get him back before Nagisa drilled him deeper into his embarrassment. 

At one point Nagisa caught the eye of his former teacher. It was a small change of expression, and on someone like Karasuma a change of expression could be as simple as a trick of the light, but to Nagisa he appeared to be confused or possibly holding back laughter. 

Eventually the meeting winds down, the last pieces of business being concluded and the discussion degenerating into half-hearted attempts at starting a fight just so everyone at the table remembers the others are still dangerous. 

Karma uncrosses his arms and goes to stand. 

“Awww are you done now Ka-chan?” Nagisa asks him with a cute pout. “I was having fun~”

Karma pointedly ignores him as Nagisa grabs him in a hug that would have smothered him in cleavage if Nagisa wasn’t flat-chested. 

“Remember you promised to take me shopping.” He tells him as Karma leaves the room and summons Terasaka to bring the car around. 

Though he doesn’t look back the tips of his ears are still red. 

Rio waves away the smoke and stands to follow Nagisa out the door. Instead of turning to go to the bar she turns through the other door to the delivery entrance. Intrigued Nagisa follows her as she opens the creaking iron door into the parking lot. One streetlight flickers, clouds of fluttering moths drawn to the pale glow. 

Rio leans back against the rougher bricks of the wall and with a flick of her wrist a carton of cigarettes flicks into her palm. She shakes one out and offers it to Nagisa. He takes it gratefully. Rio lights it for him. 

“So you’re the new bodyguard huh?” 

Nagisa takes a drag on the cigarette. 

“There’s no fooling you.” He says, dropping his voice into his normal tones. 

“If the boys weren’t thinking with their dicks they would have noticed too.” Rio points out. “Don’t worry about me blowing your cover. Us girls gotta stick together.” 

“Men are idiots.” Nagisa cups his cigarette against a sudden burst of cold wind and quotes his teacher. 

“Did you see Asano’s face?” Rio flicks out another cigarette and tucks it neatly between her lips. “He’s definitely noticed you’re not too sweet on Karma. Poor boy probably thinks he has a shot.” 

“Hmmm he seemed nice.” Nagisa hums and thinks of his client. 

“Well he’s good at seeming.” Rio flicks the wheel of her lighter so an orange flame joins the streetlight in illuminating the darkness. “You’re probably safer with Karma. He doesn’t try and hide the fact he’s an asshole.” 

“Karma…Does he do this often?” Nagisa asks her. 

Rio lights her own cigarette. 

“Most of them don’t make it as far as the meeting room. He makes a game of getting rid of them. He doesn’t think he needs a bodyguard and he hates being told what to do.” She blows out a cloud of smoke. “You’ve got your work cut out for you.” 

“Of course I do. Of course I do.” 

Something of his long suffering must have made its way into his tone because Rio gives him a sympathetic look as Terasaka brings the car around and Nagisa stubs out his cigarette on the bricks to catch up to Karma. 

“If you need another job I’m always hiring.” She calls after him and waves. 

Karma sulks the entire ride home with the tips of his ears still red with embarrassment and his hands balling into fists in his lap. He doesn’t say anything to Nagisa and Terasaka’s one attempt to say something when he unlocks the car doors is silenced by a death glare from the red head. As soon as they return home Karma climbs the stairs to his room without looking in his bodyguard’s direction and slams the door shut behind him. 

Nagisa goes downstairs and does a perimeter check, sets up the couch bed, cleans and stows away his caches of emergency cash, food and weapons then settles down for a comfortable and uninterrupted sleep. 

Day One final scoring: Karma: 4 | Nagisa: More than Karma is willing to admit.


	2. January

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder that this will be updating on mondays!  
> Thankyou for all the kind comments I will get to replying to them very soon :D  
> Please enjoy another chapter of these two idiots trying to get along, and things getting a little steamy.

Karma’s anger was like napalm. Once it was ignited it would burn for a long time. Those that got too close to it would find it sticking to their hair, clothes and skin until it burned down to the bone.

Anyone around him avoided that molten rage, just brushing past him would be enough for some of it to stick to you and start to burn.

After the first time any member of his household experienced his rage they learnt to keep their distance; Karma didn’t much care about any collateral damage to those too foolish to stay out of his way. Terasaka had learnt to identify his employer’s moods; the scars left by the last time he had interrupted Karma’s brooding were far from metaphorical.

Terasaka did not have the easiest of jobs. He drove, he lifted and carried anything heavy, he washed the car, took out the trash, mowed the lawn and whenever Karma was pissed off or wanted to show off he was his punching bag, again in a non-metaphorical manner. In fact, he had freely admitted his job had to be one of the shittiest on the goddamn planet and there was nothing he hated more than things that made his shitty, underpaid job even harder.

Therefore, when the boss’s new bodyguard came up to him and said he was concerned at how long his client was sulking and asked how to get him to be social again Terasaka lied. He _could_ have told him about Karma’s temper, especially after such an embarrassing loss, and how he was overflowing with incandescent rage to the point at which anyone who interrupted his plotting for revenge could be fired on the spot at best. He could have mentioned that with Karma’s incredible anger currently levelled at the bodyguard he would be better off laying low and preparing for whatever elaborate revenge Karma was planning. He could have simply told him Karma didn’t feel like company but he didn’t.

Terasaka wanted to get rid of the stubborn bodyguard making his job harder so he told him with a smile that Karma probably wanted to apologize but didn’t know how and they should have a long heart-to-heart to work out their problems. It left him with the feeling that such a dangerous lie should probably be against the Geneva Conventions.

The initial sting of Karma’s embarrassment had quickly faded as his hatred had focused itself. He refused to see his bodyguard again until he had formulated the perfect plan to completely and utterly destroy him. He had been surviving off delivery pizza and videogames just to avoid having to talk to him.

He had made it over a week before his luck had run out.

He had run out of videogames. With care he snuck around to the front door only to find Nagisa there waiting for him.

“Going out?” He said with an innocent smile.

“I don’t need you to come with me.” Karma snaps in short, clipped tones.

“Contractually I have to.” Nagisa points out as Karma barges past him to get through the door.

Karma doesn’t say anything in reply as he strides out into the chilly air. It is a grey day. The sky is entirely covered in roiling clouds, white with darker grey edges. The sun is a mere patch of lighter cloud. This is the kind of the day that makes everything seem gloomy.

Under other circumstances Karma could have ignored him. Had his bodyguard simply tried to trail behind him Karma could have pretended he was a stranger who just so happened to be walking the same direction as him but Nagisa was walking at his side like they were _friends._ It made his blood boil and venomous words line themselves up on his tongue.

His walk to the store was an exercise in how much he could increase his pace trying to leave Nagisa behind without obviously breaking into a run. Once they get there he is hoping his bodyguard will take the hint and wait outside the store for him to be done but no, he hovers like a second shadow as Karma looks over the new releases. Every time he reaches for something Nagisa asks him little questions; does he like this series or that one better, does he usually play this kind of game or that kind of game, for this series does he prefer the original or the reboot or what was his opinion on the new game from the company that had recently been announced. They are all small, polite questions that he tries to answer in one word if possible or stay silent for as long as he can without appearing too rude to the other shoppers. It makes his search for new games take twice as long because he can’t focus on what he wants to play over his anger at his bodyguard.

By the time he actually makes his purchase and goes to leave the skies have opened up. A heavy rain turns the streets silver with running water. The street ahead is fogged white with the spray from drops hitting the ground. The streets are close to overflowing and each passing car has their lights on and a skirt of spraying water trailing behind them. Karma reaches into his bag and pulls out his collapsible umbrella.

“Wow, it’s pretty wet huh?” Nagisa remarks as he steps up beside Karma.

Karma ignores him and strides out into the rain.

“Hey, wait up!” Nagisa walks out after him and the puddles splash up around his feet. “At least share the umbrella!”

Something in Karma snaps and he does something very immature. He turns and shoves Nagisa over into a puddle.

“Piss off!” He yells at his bodyguard. “I don’t _need_ you!”

The assassin’s shoes slip on the slicked ground and with a small sharp cry of surprise he twists his body to reduce the damage from his fall. The puddle that Karma had thought to be only a few inches of dirty water swallows Nagisa up to his elbows. In an instant his clothes are completely drenched. His long hair falls around his shoulders now thoroughly soaked and his shirt clings close to his skinny chest, the white fabric starting to go transparent.

Strange lines not of the cut of the cloth start to show through the shirt’s fabric and Karma looks on them curiously, wondering what they are, before Nagisa pulls his sodden wool jacket across them and wordlessly stands up. There is a faint swirl of blood in the muddy water and Karma sees that where Nagisa had flung out his hand to catch the curb to steady himself the skin has torn off the bottom of his palm.  

Nagisa looks up at him and Karma is struck with the deep and sudden realization that he is being a complete and utter asshole.

Like a sound you didn’t realize was there until it was cut off, Nagisa’s entire manner changes. His eyes have become cold, professional and lifeless and the sparkle in them dies. He changes his posture from that of a friend to that of an employee and, too late, Karma realizes that his cheerful conversation probably wasn’t him looking for another chance to humiliate him. Nagisa had been genuinely trying to get to know him and he had been a petulant brat to him all afternoon.

Karma hunkers over, holding the umbrella over the Yazuka Bodyguard’s head as he reaches out a hand to help him up.

Nagisa takes his hand. It is freezing cold. Blood from his torn palm sticks to Karma’s hand and when he lets go there is a smear of red running down his wrist.

“It’s a bit late for the umbrella.” Nagisa says and though the light doesn’t fully return to his eyes his wry little smile shows he’s making a joke. “I can’t get any wetter.”

“…Right.” Karma tilts the umbrella back over himself.

Nagisa hunches over against the cold, holding his dripping jacket over his shoulders. His shoes make squishing noises as cold, dirty water overflows from them with every step. He looks pathetic, like a small bird with bedraggled feathers too wet to fly.

He doesn’t say anything else but he sticks close enough to Karma for Karma to tell he is shivering from the cold. With his hunched thin body and his skin paler than usual from the cold Karma feels a stab of guilt at shoving him over.

“I’m taking a shower to warm up and get changed.” Nagisa tells him once they reach the front door. “Please tell me if you wish to leave the house again.”

“Ah, Nagisa!” Karma interrupts. Nagisa turns to look at him and Karma can see the dark specks where dirt has become lodged in the torn skin of Nagisa’s hand.

“I’m sorry.” He says in a voice that is barely audible over the hissing of rain. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Nagisa nods slightly, or is that a trick of his imagination, and makes his damp way inside the house.

Karma leaves his umbrella in the stand by the door and carries his bag of game purchases up to his room. He is lining up the cases on his bed, deciding which one to play first when the hiss of the shower downstairs reminds him of the lines he had seen for a brief moment under Nagisa’s shirt. What if he had hurt himself some other way in the fall? Surely he owed it to him to at least check…

Karma moves downstairs without a sound, mentally rehearsing a proper apology.

The hiss of the shower stops as he reaches the door. He pauses with his hand poised to knock. What was he going to say?

He had been pissed off at him but in hindsight he had been annoyed that Nagisa was giving as good as he got. How many times had he complained to Terasaka that he wanted a bodyguard with a sense of humour who wouldn’t just treat him like a client? Had he driven them off as soon as he got his wish?

There was something different about Nagisa; something soft and light and genuine that he found himself wanting to protect. He can’t help but feel that vulnerable side of Nagisa he had seen in the rain wasn’t some plotted attempt to manipulate him. Once he started thinking of Nagisa as another person rather than a faceless enemy labelled ‘bodyguard’ he can’t help but feel the weight of guilt from how he had been treating him. For all his talk Karma believed strongly in justice and at this time it was clear he was in the wrong.

He pushes at the door, realizing too late he never knocked.

“Nagisa…” He starts to say before the words freeze in his throat.

Nagisa is stretching out in front of the mirror and stretching across his shoulders and back is a bold and beautiful tattoo. The white-scaled serpent, bordered by sakura blossoms curls around a set of skulls and a dagger. The black lines are as bold as brushstrokes and coloured like a watercolour painting. It looks beautiful against the creamy white curve of his back, the long blue hair falling down over it like a waterfall.

The serpent’s scales fade towards Nagisa’s wrist as he reapplies the flesh-toned concealer to them. One hand is reaching towards the makeup, the other is holding around his waist a fluffy white towel that barely touches his knees. A thin tan hair-tie hangs from his mouth and for a brief moment his eyes are so wide and blue and innocent that Karma feels a jolt run through his heart.

In the next moment Nagisa is pinning him to the ground, his damp blue hair framing his face in coils and the combat knife from the sink pressed firmly against Karma’s windpipe. He pants faintly from the exertion, the heat from the shower still billowing steam putting a flush in his cheeks. Adrenaline spikes in Karma as Nagisa bears him to the ground. Nagisa is sitting between his thighs with his body still bare and smooth and soft and pressed closely against him. Karma’s eyes rake down Nagisa’s toned chest to see _the towel is slipping._ Somehow that fact becomes more important than the knife at his throat.

“Karma?” He says in surprise and the pressure at his throat lessens a bit. “What are you...?”

“The towel, the towel is slipping!” Karma blurts out.

Without Nagisa to hold it up the damp towel is only loosely held in place by gravity and it is starting to slip to one side, giving Karma a fantastic view of a milky-white hip curving down to where the towel is slipping loose.

“Going to spy on me in the shower?” Nagisa snarls and pushes down on the knife, not hard enough to draw blood but close. “Looking to take some pictures for blackmail?”

“It’s going to fall.” Karma blurts out and as he says it, the wet towel does drop free until it is dangling off the side of one creamy thigh and covering up absolutely nothing.

Karma’s mouth goes dry.

“Talk. What do you want?” Nagisa demands and pushes against his throat with the flat of the blade.

The first terrified thought to leap to the forefront of Karma’s brain is ‘Sit on my face’ which wasn’t appropriate. He had a different reason for wanting to talk to him right? He just had to remember what it was.

“I wanted to say sorry.” Karma croaks out. The pressure on the knife lessens.

“Say sorry?” Nagisa’s tone becomes a little more curious and he withdraws the knife to within an inch of Karma’s neck. “Keep talking.”

“I want” step on me “to apologize” fuck my throat “for my behaviour” fuck any hole you want “I haven’t been fair to you.” Karma manages to finish his sentence despite the messages from his lower body where Nagisa’s naked length is pressing against the crotch of his pants. “Can we start over?”

“The contract still stands.” Nagisa reminds him coldly.

“I know it does.” Karma’s voice sounds rushed and pathetic even to him but he is feeling far too comfortable with this uncomfortable position. “But I was thinking I should have really tried to get to know you as a person before I tried to get rid of you and I feel terrible that I ended up hurting you. Please give me a chance to prove I’m more than a spoiled rich brat.”

“You can start by not barging in on people when they’re having showers.” Nagisa replies but there is a faint smile on his face and a joke in his tone. He puts away the knife and helps Karma up before bending over to pick up the towel.

Karma makes a sound like a startled kitten as his little problem suddenly becomes a lot bigger.

“Iwillkeepthatinmindsorryfordisturbingyoubye!” His words run together as he tries to get them out as quickly as possible.

He backs away and quickly shuts the bathroom door behind himself, slipping to the ground with his face bright red with embarrassment. He pinches his elbow and rubs at the skin until his little problem subsides while trying to make as little noise as possible.

He has a whole new problem to deal with now.

Oh dear, oh dear.

He breathes out hard in an attempt to steady himself. He really was not expecting…He hadn’t planned…

Nagisa was _hot._

Karma runs his hands through his hair. How was he going to deal with this? Earlier today he still wanted to get rid of the guy but now he wanted to hold him close and bury his face in his hair?

This was more than a spanner in the works, this was a lit stick of dynamite and now he’s sorting through the surviving cogwheels and trying to remember what the machine had actually been for.

At least, at least he had managed to apologize, right? That must count for something. He just needs to compose himself and get started on a new plan.

Karma gathers himself up and returns upstairs to his new videogames. On the way he brushes past Terasaka carrying a basket of laundry, who flinches in anticipation of a casual blow but the red-head ignores him entirely, chewing on the nail of his thumb as he always did when deep in thought.

Terasaka looks downstairs where Nagisa, damp-haired still but dressed in clean, dry clothes, is emerging back into the lounge.

“What’s up with the boss?” Terasaka asks him. He’s not a good enough actor to conceal his surprise that the bodyguard is there at all.

“Oh, he apologized.” Nagisa tells him primly.

Terasaka nearly has a heart-attack.

“He _apologized?!_ ” He splutters.

Nagisa raises one eyebrow and gives him a piercing blue stare.

“Didn’t you say he would?” His tone is cold.

“Yeah but I didn’t think he would actually do it!” Terasaka blurts out and immediately the atmosphere turns to ice.

Nagisa smiles like a snake and steps towards him.

“What was that?” He says sweet as a poisoned apple.

Terasaka holds his laundry basket in front on him like a shield. He raises his shoulders, subconsciously settling himself into a defensive position.

Nagisa walks past him like he wasn’t there, completely ignoring his guard and Terasaka, who was braced to expect resistance, falters.

Nagisa rests his hand on his shoulder and Terasaka feels against his neck a cold point of steel.

“My contract forbids me from killing my client, no-one else. Keep that in mind next time you are thinking of lying to me.” He says with a smile and steps forwards.

The knife is completely hidden; Terasaka finds himself doubting it had ever existed as Nagisa calmly walks away.

Terasaka rests his hand on his neck and rubs at it, wondering if the pressure he had felt was just pure killing intent or if Nagisa was somehow hiding a knife in his shirt sleeves or something and drops the laundry basket.

“Shit!” He swears loudly as he gets down on the ground and starts picking up socks. Somehow he had managed to make a shitty day even shittier.

He wishes he knew what the Yazuka Assassin had said or done to his boss though because Karma was acting strange throughout the day and asking them about it was likely to result in a dumpster burial.

Nagisa noticed some changes in Karma’s behaviour.

His bravado from their first meeting had all but completely faded and the Karma that remained was a well-mannered, deeply thoughtful young man who carefully considered all of his decisions beforehand. He actually listened to Nagisa’s advice when they were out together and tried to start casual conversations. He had learnt that Karma collected spices and liked old movies. He hated crowds and being told what to do and, although he didn’t mind Terasaka and the rest of the gang coming around to watch T.V. he couldn’t stay more than half an hour with them before getting tired and retiring to do his own thing.

He had a strong sense of morality, though it was self-centred. Though he no longer was trying to drive Nagisa away he was still merciless in teasing and manipulating his staff. It was punishment, Nagisa had realized, for some crime Karma believed they had committed. He would always stop short of the point of serious damage, so as to make sure the lesson stuck without driving them away and while Terasaka always complained he never seriously considered leaving.

In addition, Karma was exceedingly nervous around him. He tested his behaviour like a cat circling a new cushion, occasionally prodding it with a paw but not sure where it lay. He kept making the same mistakes over and over, he was softer towards Nagisa as if afraid of startling or offending him and after saying something he would pause and closely observe Nagisa for a response. Nagisa could feel him waiting for approval.

Of course these were the subtler signs. The Karma of now did things that would have made the Karma of his first meeting kick him down a flight of stairs.

Dramatic convention dictated that a crush would be obvious to everyone but the one with the crush and the one they had the crush on but Karma was so obvious it was painful. He was like a puppy, always trailing behind Nagisa when, as a bodyguard, he should have been behind or beside him. He would open doors and wait for Nagisa to walk through first until Nagisa reminded him that as his bodyguard he had to keep Karma in direct line of sight at all times. He had stopped after that but with a burn of embarrassment in his cheeks.

He was going out of his way to avoid displeasing Nagisa. Foods he had mentioned liking had a way of appearing in the cupboards. When they were watching a movie Karma would watch him instead and if Nagisa didn’t look fully entertained Karma would put on a different movie or pretend he wanted to play videogames instead. No matter what he was doing he would end up looking towards Nagisa like a small child looking for approval. It was supremely irritating.

Nagisa would rather have his teeth pulled out with pliers again than admit he had preferred the Karma with confidence. At first it had been nice because he felt like Karma had accepted him as an equal and he could work together properly with him. Soon it had become clear that Karma had shot straight past that to desperate to please. It wasn’t an attractive look on him. For one he was just so _bad_ at it. Nagisa chalked it up to lack of practise.

It wasn’t until drinking with the boys however that the Yazuka assassin started to wonder if it was partially his fault.

Terasaka and the rest of Karma’s lackeys had a hole-in-the-wall dive where they went for drinks when their shift was over. Mostly it was an excuse to get wasted and complain about their employer on his tab and out of his earshot. Though, more accurately, Terasaka did most of the complaining. Not that Nagisa could really blame him. Karma went out of his way to cause problems for him to clean up and Terasaka did his fair share of complaining to Karma’s face about it.

Terasaka was still wary of him. Nagisa walked a strange line as far as employees went. His personal time was nearly non-existent and Terasaka was afraid of him. Either thankfully or unfortunately depending on the circumstances Terasaka tackled things that scared him head-on as soon as he’d had a drink which is why, the first time Nagisa was both invited and had the time to join the rest of the gang for drinks and pool Terasaka had slammed his drink on the table and demanded to know when Nagisa was going to give the boss back his balls.

This led to a somewhat awkward silence as everyone else in the bar turns to look at him. Internally Nagisa sighs. He is sick of this.

“If I castrated your boss, believe me you would have heard the screaming.” He replies with no sweetness in his tone.

He sits down at the bar and turns towards the bartender and asks for Vodka.

“You know what I mean.” Terasaka takes another swig of his cheap beer. “He’s been insufferable.”

“Wasn’t he always?” Nagisa intones.

This gets a laugh from the rest of the lackeys, all of them far too used to Terasaka’s complaints. He flushes red with a combination of alcohol and embarrassment.

“Maybe if you talked to him like that instead of leading him on he wouldn’t waste so much time trying to impress you. It’s seriously cutting into our business, right.” Terasaka tries to justify himself.

“This being the business of getting pissed on his dollar?” Nagisa bites back but he is starting to understand Terasaka’s point. “I’m doing what I was hired to do.”

“’Ain’t nobody hired you to flirt with him.” Terasaka grunts and turns back to his beer.

Nagisa down his drink in a single gulp, feeling the sharp burn of strong alcohol flowing down his throat. So Terasaka thought he was manipulating Karma? Well it made some sort of sense. Karma viewed everyone here as disposable minions but among them Terasaka was the chief minion. Nagisa’s hiring was a threat to his perceived authority.

“You think I’m trying to get into Karma’s bed.” Nagisa snorts.

“I reckon you could have if you wanted to.” Terasaka points out with surprising acuteness. “I reckon it’s just easier for you to treat him nice then he does whatever you want.”

“Believe me I find his fixation just as annoying as you do.” Nagisa sighs but his mind is working faster now.

He had thought he was just trying to be polite, to show his client the appropriate respect to prevent him lapsing into juvenile selfishness again but really, how long had it been since he had a client whose pants he hadn’t been trying to get into? Bitch-sensei had taught him it was a simple way to keep a guy’s attention even if you weren’t going to put out. It wouldn’t be impossible for him to fall into old habits when confronted with a challenge and to those inclined it would look like flirting.

“You looking for a fight?” He tells Terasaka.

Terasaka looks down at his drink rather than meet Nagisa’s eyes but he doesn’t hunch his shoulders defensively like Nagisa thought he would. Instead his eyes turn deadly serious with stubborn determination.

“All I’m saying is if you hurt him we hurt you.” His tone is sullen but it has a leaden finality to it. There is something in his eyes that warns Nagisa off attacking. Terasaka had a realistic view of his chances but it wouldn’t stop him. If he charged at Nagisa and Nagisa cut his arms off, he would still try to head-butt him rather than back down.

People like him made the worst kind of bodyguards. Too stupid to fool, too stubborn to fight. Bitch-sensei said to avoid them at all costs. They would turn to stone and there was nothing you could do to move them.

“I am not going to betray Karma and I’m not manipulating him.” Nagisa tries to protest but it seems hollow to his own ears and without moving Terasaka manages to convey he thinks that’s utter bullshit.

Under that stare Nagisa finds he’s doubting himself too. Maybe he hadn’t _meant_ to but…

The doubt niggles at the back of his mind through the evening as he starts to comb over his past actions with a fine-tooth comb. In the end he comes to a decision once he arrives back at the house. He is going to try and get Karma to do something he doesn’t want to do, namely giving him back his cigarettes. If he fails, then Karma’s embarrassing behaviour was his own fault and not Nagisa’s. If he succeeds then, yes, he is manipulating Karma for his own gain and his employer is spineless, but he’ll have his cigarettes back.

If he was going to do this, he was going to do it properly. He stops by the bathroom to apply some makeup; a bit of foundation, a bit of blush, some lipstick to make his lips look redder. His actual uniform had arrived suspiciously quickly so he can’t make use of most of the tricks Bitch-sensei taught him when he was disguising himself as a girl but she had taught him most of it was about how you held yourself. You needed the right touch of vulnerability, of being in a position where the other was in power while gently steering them towards the desired result.

He let his hair fall loosely around his shoulders and rolls up the sleeves of his jacket so his tattoos were clearly visible. Then he took a deep breath, steeled himself and strutted up to Karma’s door.

He knocked twice and there was the sound of movement inside.

“It’s Nagisa. Can I come in?” He asks sweetly.

There is a moment of other sounds, as if something is being tidied or put away, then an answering ‘come in’.

Nagisa turns the knob and the door to Karma’s bedroom opens easily. His employer is at his desk, looking over important documents with a close eye. The desk’s lamp is on but the light to the room is not to save on power, leaving the room in a velvety darkness. Perfect mood lighting.

Nagisa leans against the door, shrouded in shadows, and undoes the buttons of his shirt. With the darkness partially hiding him he walks forwards in slow, seductive steps as he slips the shirt from his shoulders so it hangs free and leaves his chest exposed.

“Y-Yes Nagisa?” Karma’s throat is dry. The redhead suddenly doesn’t have a moment to spare for his papers. He is transfixed like a moth to the flame. Nagisa rests his hands on the desk in front of him.

“Karma~” He coos in a tone that entered the ears and went straight between the legs. “Won’t you give me back my cigarettes?”

This was the best way to test if his affections were due to accidental seduction. Either way it would be a problem…

“Come on~” He hums lightly as he moves forward further, nearly climbing onto the desk as he draws close enough to kiss. “Just one Karma? I promise I won’t have any more afterwards~”

Karma’s face is flushing bright red and he sits far more stiffly in his seat than natural.

“N-Na-gisa…” He squeaks as the assassin leans in further until there is barely an inch between their faces.

“No!!” He yelps louder than he means too. “Y-You shouldn’t be smoking Nagisa!”

He raises his hands to try and shove Nagisa’s chest to push him back but in his embarrassment he badly misjudges their positions.

Nagisa makes a muffled sound of discomfort as both Karma’s hands place themselves over his face.

Well it looks like Karma found his balls which means he wouldn’t be seeing Nagisa’s tonight. He leans back off the desk and takes a hair-tie out of his vest pocket as he starts doing up the buttons on his shirt. His employer, now a blushing mess, buries his face in his papers.

“Well it looks like I haven’t accidentally seduced my client.” Which means that affection is genuine. He finishes the thought.

“I can’t believe I said no!! Did I miss my chance? Ngggggh…Not now boner…Whatevenwasthat?” Karma mutters incoherently into his writings.

“Please do exercise your better judgement more often. Your underlings are starting to worry.” Nagisa tells him as he leaves.

Looking somewhat surprised that Nagisa isn’t bearing him any ill-will for the rejection Karma watches him go and feels a stab in his heart that has nothing to do with how nice Nagisa’s ass looks in those pants. He thinks he’s falling in love…

 


	3. February

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You know what's in February? Valentines day.

Karma had become less insufferable.

It was a subtle change but Nagisa much preferred being mocked to being kissed up to. There was still that guarded softness about him, the fawning idolization of a crush but he kept it in check most of the time and Terasaka’s complaints had…well not lessened because Terasaka never stopped complaining but changed in subject matter.

Nagisa got the feeling most of Karma’s lackeys pitied him for having to spend so much time around Karma’s ever-changing moods but by far he wasn’t the worst client Nagisa had ever had. Some of those bastards he had enjoyed shooting far too much.

As far as jobs went this wasn’t the most difficult he’d had either. The apartment was a nicely sized block of land to set traps on and check the perimeter, cache sites for emergency weapons, cash and food were plenty and nicely hidden, and so far any assassination attempts had been _strictly_ amateur.

Nagisa would say the would-be assassins were members of other gangs looking to earn a promotion or get themselves out of hot water by taking Karma out. They certainly had no plans, training or decent equipment. There was even a handy incinerator to take care of the bodies. It was a welcome break from his usual work schedule, not quite a holiday but simple enough that he could focus on keeping his fundamentals sharp without stress.

He’d even had time to talk to Bitch-sensei and Karasuma about the job. Irina had teased him about it as always. Technically she had been his teacher in seduction and she had been good at it before retiring to get married. There was a lot about Rio that reminded Nagisa of her now that he thought about it. Both of them liked to stick their nose into other people’s business and both of them had no sense of shame, which is why Bitch-sensei’s first question was how good Karma was in bed.

Nagisa had long since been trained out of embarrassment by the job; you could only act bashful about exposing your thighs for so long when your job involved sex based assassination but Bitch-sensei could make a mattress blush. Whenever he was around her he went back to being the blushing child he was when she had first taken him in after the war. It wasn’t so much the subject matter as her tone. She could make ordering a drink sound like a euphemism for oral sex.

Nagisa was very fond of her.

He had told her frankly that he hadn’t screwed Karma yet, regardless of Karma’s genuine attempts, because he did not want to get too involved with him. This was the longest contract he’d taken, and certainly the longest one that didn’t include murder at the end of it.

He was seriously concerned that if he did end up in his client’s lap he might end up stabbing him from muscle memory. It certainly wouldn’t be enjoyable. He would be too worried about separating his assassination skills from the skills he was trying to develop. His concern wasn’t manipulating Karma into letting his guard down enough to slip a knife between his ribs, it was keeping him safe from anyone else who tried.

The easiest way to do that was a general chastity pact. He would interact with Karma as a professional. Nothing else.

Bitch-sensei thought that was lacking ambition, that and since she married Karasuma her own saucy escapades had largely come to an end (Karasuma was a straight forward sort of guy) and she was always looking for a juicy scandal to entertain herself.

Of course as one of the former top assassins in the world seduction was her default, it immediately put her in control of the situation. Nagisa had a bit more trouble. He spent most of his days surrounded by men (and the occasional pretty girl) who wanted to get into his pants and didn’t want to deal with it in the closest thing to a holiday he had.

Maybe Bitch-sensei took it as a compliment but it just wore him out. He never felt attracted to any of them. That disconnection made it easier to keep his calm when he was selling his body for an assassination.

Karma though, was being persistent. He would have to be careful not to crush his crush in such a way that would ruin their working relationship. After all Karma, a brat he may be, was still a decent enough client once you knew how to handle him. Sleeping with him would send entirely the wrong message.

Bitch-sensei had arched her eyebrows and said he sounded like he was getting attached, probably he’d be changing his tune later, then Karasuma had pushed her away and started a serious conversation with him.

Contractually the Yakuza were still his support in this mission. A tangled web of legal documents meant his contract was only semi-autonomous; his sensei still had the final call in whether or not things went ahead. It was standard on all contracts taken out by the Class E assassination cadre (Korosensei referred to the different branches of the Yakuza as his ‘tentacles’). The lives of their operatives was always of the highest importance. If the sensei’s felt the danger of the mission exceeded that covered by the initial contract or the student’s abilities they could be bought back, with force if necessary. It was their teacher’s fearsome response to his students being put in danger that had earnt the legendary assassin, the God of Death, the nickname of Korosensei, the unkillable teacher.

Nagisa gave a concise report on the location and his supplies. Very rarely would they would ever take on more than one job involving the same client so, secure in the knowledge that another member of his class would never be sent to assassinate Karma, he could divulge his security setup to his teachers.

The air when talking to Karasuma was similar to taking an oral test but he was nodding as Nagisa explained. Once or twice he would stop him to ask why he used a certain setup and Nagisa would give his answer but the assassin could tell his teacher was merely making sure he remembered all he was taught. Karasuma’s curt nod at the end of his report was enough of an acknowledgement for Nagisa to feel pride he had done everything right.

Unlike his wife, Karasuma supported him choosing to keep his distance emotionally. As Karasuma was quick to point out as the one with actual _experience_ in being a bodyguard a romantic attachment wasn’t the best way to protect his client. He needed to use the skills he had already developed as an assassin. Set a thief to catch a thief, he had said, or in this case set an assassin to catch an assassin.

He had also warned him that while he may be dealing with amateurs for now there were more skilled assassins out there, sizing him up. Once they had seen the small fry dealt with they would start to make serious attempts on his client’s life.

Nagisa had thanked them and ended the video call.

* * *

Living with Karma had taken some getting used to.

The apartment was nice, even if he was sleeping on the couch rather than having his own bed. The kitchen was functional and easy to clean. It had taken him longer to figure out where to buy their food from than it had to work out anything else in the house.

His client spent his afternoons in his room juggling reports from his gang members with the work he was doing for his post-graduate internship application and his mornings sleeping in. There was still his habit of putting on his finest clothes and wandering into Ryuki’s territory to beat up the delinquents that tried to mug him but Nagisa was working on that.

Overall he was settling in well. It was kind of hard to deal with Karma’s crush considering the contract mandated they spent all their time together. Sure, Nagisa could be completely professional and lock himself off entirely but it seemed rather tasteless to give Karma what amounted to the silent treatment for no reason. As strange as Karma’s tastes might run he wasn’t bad company and Nagisa was sure that trying to cut him off after being acknowledged by him was asking for Karma to try and kick him out again. Instead he found himself treating his client like a new student to his class and trying to become friends with him.

Which had led to this less than ideal situation.

They had been discussing their interests in a calm and friendly manner. Nagisa had been looking through a T.V. Guide and mentioned a movie he had liked was going to be on tonight. Karma had said he also liked that movie, it was from one of his favourite directors, and he hadn’t seen it in a while.

That is how they ended up here, sitting in Nagisa’s bed together alone at night watching the movie together. Karma had turned off all the other lights, for ‘mood lighting’ he had said, and there was a big bowl of microwave popcorn between them. It was approaching midnight, the time at which Karma usually put his work aside and retired, and he seemed to be getting awfully close.

The basics of movie dates were so ingrained into the collective consciousness that Nagisa had no doubt Karma knew he could take advantage of them. Worse, it was going to be very hard to turn him down without it appearing like he was overreacting. Movie watching flirting was very calculated to be subtle and inoffensive, to the point at which it would be in bad taste for him to reject it but at the same time not doing so might be unwanted encouragement to his client.

Nagisa couldn’t help but feel a bit apprehensive as the movie started.

It was one they both had seen before more than once. Nagisa remembered first watching it in the cinema in middle school. Now it was old enough to be shunted back to this late night time slot. Both of them had seen it enough times for paying attention to the plot to be unnecessary.

Nagisa was surprised to find Karma was a bit of a film buff.

From the moment the opening credits finished he became a fountain of information about film technique and behind the scenes action that Nagisa, who had merely liked the franchise, hadn’t known about.

In return Nagisa opened up about some of his more geekish knowledge, how the costumes changed between the previous movies, the T.V. show and the comic books, how events in the movie were a combination of events over separate issues in the comics and how the characters and plot interacted on an incredibly subtle level. Both of them enjoyed pointing out the foreshadowing and voice acting the most memorable lines together. Nagisa found himself relaxing.

This felt a lot more like spending time with a close friend than an attempt at a date.

The credits were rolling, they were discussing the infamous twist at the end of the movie and Nagisa’s guard was as close to lowered as he could get when Karma gave a long, faked yawn and started to stretch.

Nagisa’s heart sank. Here it came; the yawn and stretch and the arm over the shoulder. Then Karma would say something about how it was too late for him to get up and how he should sleep in Nagisa’s bed tonight and Nagisa really wasn’t sure if he had the energy to turn him down.

To the blue-haired assassin’s surprise Karma just keeps on stretching.

“Well that’s social interaction quota for the day. Goodnight Nagisa.” He grabs the popcorn bowl.

Nagisa’s expression of surprise must have been transparent enough to prompt an explanation because Karma continues.

“I am not very good with people. Spending time with others just tires me out. I’d much rather be alone with my games. I had the T.V. installed so Terasaka and the others had something to do but I can’t spend more than half an hour with them without getting exhausted. You’re not nearly as draining.” Karma smiles wryly, acknowledging the subtle compliment.

“None the less I tire and so I shall retire.” He slips off the bed and pulls an elaborate bow out of some courtly period piece. “Until next time my sweet prince.”

Nagisa smiles at that and with a matching smile Karma takes the stairs two at a time back to his own bed. Nagisa turns off the T.V. plunging the room into darkness and curls up in his blankets.

It was…nicer than expected knowing he and Karma could be friends. The weight in his chest disappears and he sleeps well.

Karma found himself falling even deeper in love.

*  *  *

In February was Valentine’s Day.

This was something that was hard to miss.

Karma Akabane usually loathed Valentine’s Day. It was a crass, over commercialized way of trying to shove that deepest of human emotions in a box and sell it back to you. It was a way to put a price tag on love and if you didn’t pay, well it obviously meant you didn’t _really_ love them. Your protest made you cheap, your compliance made you a chump and Karma Akabane was neither of those things.

He had managed to avoid the trap of tacky marketing for years by virtue of not having anyone he loved. Oh sure, there were people he’d had sex with, even dated for a while (o.k. a week) but he was not fool enough to pick up anyone close to Valentine’s Day. It reeked of desperation and no matter what they said they all wanted some sort of commitment out of it.

Karma spent his money on games instead.

This meant he had come to somewhat of a dilemma when it came to this day designated for declarations of love.

A confession at any time in this month is obviously dancing around the date. If he sets up some grand romantic gesture before Valentine’s Day his bias against the holiday is clear, if he sets up a surprise afterwards then he looks like he has forgotten.

Neither looking overeager or forgetful appealed to him which meant, to his disgust, the least objectionable course of action was to let the corporations win and spend his hard earned money (at least, someone had worked hard for it somewhere down the line) and invite Nagisa out to dinner.

Here at least he wasn’t going to go over the top. Heart shaped balloons and teddy bears were right out. A fancy restaurant is off the table as well. He needed to pick an environment that would make Nagisa feel at ease while breaking up their usual routine so it didn’t feel out of the blue.

He could tell they would be agreed that affection laid in the specific not the general; tokens that meant something to the recipient personally over the mass-produced trash used to express sentiment in general to unspecified recipients.

He as probably overanalysing this but he’s sure the _conclusion_ he’s come to is right. He wants to treat Nagisa to something he particularly enjoys rather than the things the T.V. said meant love on Valentine’s Day. It was here he had somewhat of a problem. His compatriot was somewhat tight-lipped regarding his own personal preferences, to be expected considering their professional working relationship and Nagisa’s own position as an assassin. It was only recently they had started to communicate with each other in an open and honest manner. Nagisa was very much still someone he was growing to know.

So he had decided to keep this casual. He had flopped down on the couch at the end of the day and asked Nagisa what he wanted to eat.

Nagisa had smiled and said he was probably going to grab some takeout later on so Karma frowned and clarified that he felt like going out to dinner so if there was something Nagisa particularly wanted to eat Karma is buying. That got him to perk up a bit and actually consider the question.

He had a really cute face when he was thinking.

In the end Nagisa decided on sushi.

* * *

The Mafia had rules. They were a simple code to be followed by everyone on pain of death, a set of unspoken rules the breaking of which led to retaliation from the rest of the table.

The first rule was that families were out of bounds. You had a problem with someone you took it out on them in person. It was the reason why the people at the meeting table changed relatively frequently.

The second was that problems between territories were kept between them. You didn’t involve the police or the rest of the table. Once you had your territory you were expected to be able to keep it without relying on others for help. If you couldn’t, well, the table will be welcoming your replacement next meeting.

The third was that certain places were neutral zones; someone’s house where you were a guest, areas with lots of law enforcement and the places where they could get a good meal. There were few places where they could discuss their work in the open without fear. Losing one of them to a police investigation bought the wrath of anyone left alive.

It left Karma with a select few places where he could be completely at ease knowing his business was both known and accepted. One of them was a sushi bar. Overall it was owned by the Yakuza, or rather that was who they paid protection to.

As an exclusive restaurant they only served the most exclusive clientele. From the outside you couldn’t tell what it was. There was just a heavyset man standing outside a shining surface so black it looks like a 2-D hole in the side of a building. There was no name. If you had to ask what was here, you weren’t rich enough to go inside.

Nagisa looked suitably impressed as Karma tipped the bouncer a hundred and electronic doors slid open as smooth as a whisper.

“Karma, I would have been fine with supermarket sushi.” Nagisa whispers as they step inside.

The inside of the store is lit with red paper lanterns, the candles that burn inside throwing pools of light against the black walls in the way that electronic lights could never mimic. The walls of shiny black seamless tile reflect the lights like a pool of still water.

“It’s been a rough week on both of us. I wanted to eat somewhere fancy.” Karma says, which was true.

Ryuki had protested the fact he had apparently beaten up one of his lieutenants (Karma had offered a rematch over recompense which only made the situation worse).

“This place is a safe zone.” He adds and smiles. “You deserve some time off.”

The actual restaurant was small but in a way that suggested not that they couldn’t afford a larger plot of real estate but that they were so exclusive in their clientele that they would never need to seat more than twelve people at a time.

With the light from the strung lanterns and the candle lit two person tables reflecting off the walls it’s like stepping into a scene from a ghost story rather than an actual place. The other diners sitting at the long benches seem, in this lighting, to be ethereal and entirely divorced from your own world. Everyone talked in soft, low tones from sheer depth of atmosphere alone.

Probably not what most people thought when they thought of a fairy tale but Karma loved the atmosphere here so much; it felt like the start of a story and no matter how many people were eating here it always felt like he was eating alone, though in a way that made him feel important rather than lonely.

There was no way he could really explain to Nagisa how significant it was that he was coming here with someone else (his bodyguard’s usually left at the door, grateful for the time away from him) without sounding creepy or desperate so he leaves it unsaid. Still it is gratifying to see the way the lights were reflecting in his wide eyes as he looked around. Karma hoped Nagisa could find a spark of the magic and wonder he had first felt when his father had taken him here for dinner.

They sat at the bar, the long bench of dark wood in front of them separating them from the kitchen. Karma ordered them a carafe of warmed sake to take the chill off the walk there and pours Nagisa’s drink for him.

The warmed alcohol spreads across his tongue like a flower, its heavy taste spreading a slow but steady warmth through his core.

Liquid courage right?

Maybe not. He doesn’t feel his judgement is impaired enough to do anything brash but he does feel more relaxed.

He sits with his legs crossed on the high stool and lightly sips at his drink as he watches the light reflecting off Nagisa’s teeth as he talks.

There is something here that is warm and comfortable to him.

Nagisa looks over the menu; the slim booklet has a night black cover with the single word ‘menu’ in a white font. The pages inside list dishes but not prices as Nagisa has pointed out.

Karma smiles then realizes he hasn’t actually answered Nagisa’s question.

“Don’t worry about the price.” He tells his bodyguard. “I have an account; you pay at the end of the meal. If you come in looking for the most expensive or cheapest item on the menu you’re coming here looking for the wrong experience.”

He grins.

“This is a place for people with class.”

“And they let you in?” Nagisa’s grin belies the mockery.

Karma dramatically claps his hands to his chest.

“Oh, you wound me sir.” He grins like a demon and flicks Nagisa’s ear in an act of childish chastising. “Hurry up and order already.”

“It’s hard to choose.” Nagisa protests. “It’s a good menu.”

Karma edges closer to him so he can look over the assassin’s shoulder.

“What were you thinking of getting?” He asks, pulling himself closer.

Nagisa points at the menu.

“I’m torn between the octopus and the salmon.”

Karma leans closer to see, though he of course already knows the menu.

“Hmmm, well I have a great idea.” He snaps the menu shut with a sound like a gunshot which doesn’t quite cause Nagisa to jump but makes him tense in his chair.

“I was going to get the salmon anyway.” He sticks out his tongue. “So you can have some of mine.”

Nagisa playfully pushes Karma’s chest in a mock attempt to unseat him.

“I think I’m going to need more alcohol.” He laughs.

“That can be arranged.” Karma laughs back and places their order.

He traces his finger around the top of the sake carafe like it is a martini glass and turns angelically wide eyes towards Nagisa.

“So, tell me about yourself. Do you come here often?”

“Karma!” Nagisa laughs.

“I mean it.” Karma laughs back. “I never get to hear about you. Surely in your big exciting hired assassin life you’ve got some interesting stories to tell.”

“Karma!” Nagisa hisses.

Karma rocks back on his chair, sticking out his tongue again.

“What? I said this was a safe place. I can list the people I’ve had killed at the top of my voice and the only objection would be to my volume. No-one here makes clean money, at least not all of it. You don’t have to pretend to be a morally upstanding citizen here.”

Karma leans against the bar, once again devoting his complete attention to Nagisa.

“So tell me about yourself. You’ve been my bodyguard for nearly two months and I know next to nothing about you.”

Nagisa looks at his drink and a small smile plays across his lips.

“I am an assassin Karma. If you knew much about me I wouldn’t be doing my job.”

“You’re my _bodyguard._ ” Karma breathes. “Surely it is in our best interests to be well acquainted?”

“Fair enough.” Nagisa admits. “So what do you want to know?”

 _Everything._ Karma thinks. “Where are you from?” He says out loud.

Nagisa arches an eyebrow.

“That is a little too personal Karma.”

“Right, right.” Karma toys with his drink. “Then how about your wish for the future?”

“Honestly?” Nagisa asks and Karma finds himself staring deeply into those bright blue eyes.

“Honestly.” Karma makes a vague cross-your-heart gesture.

“To be taller.”

Karma bursts out laughing.

“I haven’t had a growth spurt in a long time and it’s hard to be taken seriously in this business when you look so young! You can stop laughing now. Seriously Karma, cut it out! It’s not that funny.” Nagisa’s tone drops into sulky and he pushes at Karma’s chest.

“Sorry, sorry.” Karma holds up his hands in mock surrender but giggles are still breaking from his lips.

“It’s not funny.” Nagisa reiterates in a sulk. “What’s your wish for the future then?”

“Why, world domination of course.” Karma says with a wink.

“Be serious.” Nagisa pushes against him again. “I told you mine.”

“I am serious.” Karma laughs. “I’m not saying I want to be a public face, I want to be the man behind the man, manipulating the system from the shadows. Unseen, unsung but in absolute control.”

“A political ninja.” Nagisa jokes.

“Character assassination is so much less messy don’t you think?” Karma winks and sticks out his tongue again.

“Depends on your methods.” Nagisa laughs.

It is at that moment, with the lantern glow reflecting off Nagisa’s tied-back hair, that their food arrives.

Nagisa rubs his hands together eagerly, muttering a short prayer under his breath. Karma’s smile grows a fraction. It has been a while since he last saw that. It was an old country affection.

With care he picks up one of his own salmon rolls and holds it out to him.

“Say ‘Ah’.” He says with a smile.

“Karma, I’m not a child.” Nagisa says with a laugh.

Karma doesn’t mention his true intentions, he merely transfers two of his sushi rolls to Nagisa’s plate and takes two of the octopus rolls for himself.

Immediately he pops one in his mouth and curls his tongue around the soft meat. He savours the unfamiliar feeling on tiny suckers on the curl of tender meat and chews.

It is, naturally, delicious.

He had joked with his father before that to get seafood this fresh they must have waded into the ocean and caught them themselves. The thought of the refined chefs they had seen wading out into the bay and catching fish with their bare hands had bought a smile to both Akabanes that day.

Nagisa obligingly tries the salmon roll Karma has left him and Karma watches closely as he chews. Nagisa’s lips are soft and pink and plump with a small grain of sticky rice stuck to the lower one.

Karma forces himself to look away. If he spends too much time looking at Nagisa’s lips his bodyguard is going to catch on. This was no time to get nervous. He disguises the motion by taking another gulp of alcohol to distract himself from the fact that tiny piece of rice is still there. As much as he wanted to it would be inappropriate to lean over and wipe away that clinging speck of rice, no matter how soft Nagisa’s lips looked and how easy it would be to kiss it away.

“You know; I was expecting you to have something else planned today.” Nagisa tells him as he puts down his chopsticks to take another sip of sake himself.

“Hmm?” Karma pretends he wasn’t paying attention. He keeps his face relaxed while inwardly his mind is racing. What did Nagisa mean by that? He is starting to panic now. Should he have booked that fancy romantic restaurant instead? Should he have bought flowers? Chocolates? Some sort of gift? What did Nagisa think he should have planned?!

“Well seeing as it’s Valentine’s Day I figured you’d be out on a date.” His bodyguard says. “Don’t you have a special girl you’d rather be spending tonight with?”

Karma is glad he is looking at his meal rather than his bodyguard because he is sure his mask of calmness had slipped. _It’s you_ , he wants to say. _You’re the only one I want to spend tonight with_.

“Girls aren’t really my thing.” He manages to reply, sure his voice has slipped and given him away.

"Guys then?" Nagisa asks with a raised eyebrow.

 _'No, you, only you.'_ Karma says internally and feels the words struggling to be said out loud.

He sighs instead and puts his hands in his pockets.

“I don’t really go out on Valentines.” He says moodily. “There’s no-one I wanted to take out. They’d read too much into it but…” His fingers tighten. “As I said, I found being near other people draining before I met you.”

“Does that make me your first friend then?” Nagisa looks directly at him with his wide cute blue eyes.

“I was hoping...you could be more than that."

Nagisa sighs.

“Karma please. I know you like me but I just can’t.”

“Why not?” Karma reaches over the table and grabs Nagisa’s hand. He curses how hard it is to speak. He’d be suave if he wasn’t trying so hard to be honest with his feelings. “Is there something you don’t like about me?”

Nagisa pulls his hand back. His bright blue eyes go as cold and hard as two slivers of sapphire.

“It’s not that.” He says firmly. “Karma, I am here as a professional. If you invited me tonight thinking it was or could become a date you are mistaken. Our relationship can never be anything but a business one. We have not met as equals; this is a relationship where one holds power over the other. I have one rule for my dealings as a bodyguard and it is this; I will not become romantically involved with a client. This rule is here for your good and mine. It has nothing to do with who you are as a person. It is not a thing you can change by changing yourself to please me. Please Karma, let this go.”

“And if I wasn’t your client?” Karma says more sharply than he meant to.

“Then…” Nagisa seems confused, almost shaken and Karma goes after the moment of weakness like a shark after a bleeding seal.

“At the end of the year our contract ends right?” Karma’s voice seems less panicked. “What if I asked you then?”

“Well…” Nagisa isn’t sure how to respond to that.

Karma slams back the rest of his drink to hide his earlier moment of weakness.

“Don’t think of this as an attempt at a date, this is a declaration of war.” He stabs at his chest with his thumb. “Before the end of the year I’m going to make you fall in love with me.”

Nagisa chokes on his own alcohol.

_“What?”_

“You heard me.” Karma’s voice has regained his previous bravado. “I am going to woo you like no-one has ever been wooed until you have no choice but to love me as much as I love you.”

“Did you seriously just use the word woo?” Nagisa asks in disbelief before the rest of his sentence filters through. “Wait, _love?_ ”

“For now I just want to get to know you. For real.” Karma ignores him. “But I swear on my name as an Akabane.” He dramatically points his chopsticks at Nagisa’s chest. “Before the year is up I’m going to make you break that rule of yours.”

Nagisa leans in and eats the sushi roll Karma had been holding. This really should be something he should be trying to prevent but…

                                                                                                                                                                       

“You know what? Bring it on.”

 


	4. March

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karma learns not to be a sulky baby and leave his bodyguard unattended lol.  
> 

Karma had fulfilled his promise in a manner less obnoxious than Nagisa thought he would. He had been outright charming in a way that reminded Nagisa of a few of his less perverted clients. That was good, he could deal with Karma’s earnest puppy crush when he was being treated like a person. It just meant he had to take extra care in avoiding leading him on.

There was an unspoken agreement between them that some level of flirting and teasing was allowed to prevent Karma from becoming insufferably fawning or depressingly withdrawn.

Karma not being a little shit wouldn’t be Karma, he thinks with a sigh as Karma goes through the racks for another skirt.

It’s not like it was a surprise at this point. It was hard to find anything Karma did particularly surprising anymore. He was like an internet troll, always looking for a reaction, and his tastes were so eccentric it was hard to tell what he was taking seriously.

“So what about this one?” Karma holds up a skirt the size of a dishtowel with a plaid pattern.

Nagisa sighs.

The skirts have been getting progressively shorter through the afternoon as Karma moved from the flashy to the trashy. At this rate he’ll be in g-strings by the end of the day…Nagisa muses.

Not that he minded Karma asking for a professional opinion but Karma had a horrible sense of taste. The skirts he picked out were completely not his style.

Karma was easier to fit then say, Terasaka, but all the outfits that caught his eye just wouldn’t fit him and not just because he kept on picking clothes that were too small for him.

Karma really wasn’t the kind of person who could pull off that kind of sex appeal. The idea of Karma posing provocatively in such a tiny skirt was enough to make him laugh out loud. Karma couldn’t pull off that kind of subtle seduction like he could and he seemed to be picking these outfits at random.

This had to be some kind of test of how much he could put up with. Karma was trying to see if he could get a reaction from him with this. Well, he was only here to keep Karma safe anyway. If they had to go to another shop however, he might die of boredom.

Nagisa leans back in the seat and shakes his head.

“It really doesn’t suit.”

Karma sighs and puts it back on the rack.

“Well it looks like that’s it for this store.” He says, forcing a smile. “But I’m going to find the perfect outfit if it kills me!”

Nagisa groans.

“I think it’s time you admitted you just have a terrible sense of fashion.” He tells Karma.

“Rude.” Karma gently chides him. “I’m doing my best here.”

“Then your best is shit.” Nagisa bluntly replies. “None of these skirts are cut to suit you.”

“Eh? These are for you!” Karma protests. “You haven’t told me what you’re wearing so I wanted to buy a new outfit.”

“I’m wearing this.” Nagisa looks down at his uniform. It wasn’t anything fancy but it was neat and formal enough. He can blend into a crowd inconspicuously watch to make sure Karma isn’t under threat.

“You can’t wear that.” Karma snorts and takes another outfit off the rack.

“Why not?” Nagisa asks, not believing how long they had wasted on this stunningly boring chore.

If Karma wanted him to have a new outfit he could have just said so. Nagisa could have picked up something better and charged it to Karma’s card in an eighth of the time without having to suffer Karma’s choice in outfits.

“Otherwise how else will everyone at the Ball know you’re my date!”

Nagisa makes direct eye contact, the coldness in his ice blue eyes freezing Karma’s objections.

“What _Ball_?” He asks slowly and coldly.

Karma opens his mouth to say something, then closes it as he starts to deeply think. His forehead creases and he frowns.

“The one…uh…that I am now realizing I never actually told you about…or invited you to.” Karma covers the lower part of his face with his hand and quietly swears.

“So…” He takes a deep breath and presses his hands together. “Are you doing anything tonight?”  

 _“Seriously?”_ Nagisa gives him a look and snatches the hanger out of Karma’s hands.

“You owe me for putting up with this.” He scolds Karma and heads towards the changing rooms.

He undoes his hair tie and shakes out his hair.

Going from male to female was easy for him but honestly, this was not the way he wanted to be asked out on a date.

Nagisa locks the door behind and starts to think.

He _did_ have plans for tonight. He had to do his perimeter check, pick up the groceries, he’d put chicken out to defrost for dinner, that would need to be put away, he’d been planning on having a bubble bath…

And Karma had apparently made plans without him. Nagisa sighs and brushes out the skirt.

At least this looked like a genuine mistake on Karma’s part rather than some trick he was pulling. Nagisa smiles to himself as he spins and admires how he looks in the mirror.

Well, it would do.

It wasn’t the kind of thing he would wear around the house but for an event…Karma’s choices made more sense. If this was the kind of event where they would be emphatically ‘seen together’ Karma would want to show him off.

Of course the pervert probably liked seeing him wearing revealing women’s clothing too but it was nothing Nagisa wasn’t used to. A Karma busy staring at his ass wouldn’t be getting into trouble either.

As Bitch-sensei said, you should flaunt what you’ve got. Nagisa was well aware his ass was an asset to this mission and he could always run in a short skirt if he had to.

He combs out his hair with his fingers, making sure it falls nicely in long silky waves. It aches a bit at the roots from being tied up all the time but Nagisa barely notices the small amounts of pain as he makes sure it falls neatly around his shoulders.

Setting his expression to demure he steps out of the dressing room and poses cutely for Karma. He is sure he sees a blush starting on Karma’s cheeks before he rapidly looks away at the accessory rack.

Nagisa’s coy smile grows. Got him.

The assassin is well aware he is getting a few admiring looks from customers as he smiles cutely and twirls.

“What do you think Ka-chan?” He pitches his voice higher than usual to sound more girly and pouts. “Am I cute?”

The nickname is a subtle jab. Karma wanted to bring him to another public event, he was going to act like he did during their meeting.

Nagisa is sure he can see the tips of Karma’s ears flushing red.

“Very cute.” Karma is having more trouble getting into character than Nagisa did. His ‘appreciative boyfriend’ voice sounded a little strained.

Nagisa giggles and leans against his arm. Karma coughs, trying to avoid direct eye-contact and grabs a set of bracelets from the rack.

“How about these?” He asks quietly in his normal tone.

“Hmm, I take back what I said earlier.” Nagisa replies in his usual voice. “Your fashion taste isn’t completely terrible.”

“I live to please.” Karma mutters sarcastically and rolls his eyes.

Nagisa slips on the bracelets. They fit rather snugly but not enough for him to worry about circulation being cut off. Their design is pretty simple, black bands with a single large metal ring off which hung two fine chains.

Not bad.

He reached back into the rack and found the matching necklace, equally simple but with thicker chains on each side of the ring. He pretends not to notice the way Karma’s eyes went to the nape of his neck as he slipped the choker on. He wasn’t the only one staring.

Damn, he was adorable.

In so far as such a thing existed Nagisa’s natural personality was unnoticeable; he was the kind of the person that blended into the background of life. It made him a perfect assassin, like the ninjas of old. He was a background character until there was a knife being slipped between your ribs, and sometimes even then he’d be nothing more than a shadow.

That was why Bitch-sensei had taught him to stand out. As he usually was he was a shadow but in thigh-high socks and a short skirt he was a vision, a beautiful mysterious lady that everyone would remember being at the party. Then when the deed was done he would put up his hair, change his clothes and leave the police chasing a phantom Cinderella.

When you stood out you would be remembered. People would think they knew what to look for.

He really did wish Karma had given him some warning. Acting like this took time and effort and didn’t have much time to prepare.

“What kind of event is this anyway?” Nagisa asks him after getting changed back into his uniform and neatly slipping the outfit back onto its hanger for purchase. “You haven’t mentioned it before.”

Which he really should have if he was expecting Nagisa to attend…He doesn’t have to clarify this, it’s clear from the way Karma nervously shuffles around that he is aware he has fucked up.

“It’s a charity event, an annual dance.” He mutters. “It’s always boring.”

Karma kicks at the ground.

“But I have to attend. It’s part of being a gang leader here. You go in, flash your cash to show you’re not a heartless bastard and get cooed over for being so magnanimous. It’s a joke and everyone knows it, but it’s a chance to act like a celebrity and if I don’t show again everyone’s going to chew me out next meeting.”

“It’s a time to give back to the community?” Nagisa asks with an innocent smile his profession belies.

“A bunch of stuffed shirts drunk on their own self-righteousness.” Karma snorts. “But it’s the biggest party of the year and if I don’t want to look like a lonely loser I’ve got to bring a plus one…”

“You are a lonely loser.” Nagisa snorts. Karma looks offended. “Why else would you be bringing your bodyguard as your date.”

“Well I am still trying to woo you.” Karma says in all seriousness.

Nagisa has to fight the urge to roll his eyes as Karma pays for his new outfit. Karma’s vocabulary seemed to have trouble staying in the current century when it came to romantics. He could count himself lucky it hadn’t got into Karma’s head to start reading him love poetry.

He’s sure Karma is doing this deliberately, solely for how stupid the word sounds.

“I’ll need prep time.” Nagisa tells him as they leave the store, Nagisa’s hair still flowing around his shoulders and a skip in his step.

He holds himself different when he was pretending to be a girl. When he was in his uniform he was daring others to notice him, when he was in a skirt he was daring them to not.

He gets a few appreciative glances as they walk back to the car. Karma gets fidgety and Nagisa grins as he realizes he is getting jealous of the attention. Well he better get used to it, after unexpectedly ruining his plans for the evening Nagisa was going to show him up by shining like a star at this event.

In truth it was partially his fault at least for making it look so effortless. Karma had no idea how much careful training and skill went into making him look presentable in the mornings. Now not only did he have to do his hair and makeup to be a convincingly stunning girl for this event but he had to check the car they were taking for explosives, the venue itself for sniping spots, the caterer for poisons…A good old-fashioned drive-by shooting couldn’t be dismissed either.

Karma had no idea how much he did for him. A public event out in the open where everyone knew exactly where Karma would be and when? It was something he’d normally spend all day scoping out; if one member of the little council of crime decided it was time to go solo this would be where they’d strike. If he’d had all day he would still worry he had overlooked something potentially fatal. As it was he only had a few hours.

Karma, cooling his heels while he waited for Nagisa to finish contouring his cheeks to make them even chubbier and cuter, had no idea of the danger he could be in. for him the charity event was the same boring dance it always was and that was the danger. Karasuma had drilled it into him; if there was anything his client took for granted that was a first priority threat. Karma was so convinced this was going to be a night of small talk and finger sandwiches he’d walk right into the trap without a second thought.

Nagisa slips on the bracelets Karma had picked. They’re sturdier than the usual fare, probably because Karma shopped at the higher end of trashy stores, and made out of real leather. The metal rings are probably sturdy enough to hold a person’s weight. Nagisa wonders if Karma had that in mind when he picked them out. He wouldn’t put it past his employer.

Nagisa stops wondering about it as he does up the necklace. Bondage chic was in this season for some unfathomable reason and he was going to look adorable.

Bitch-sensei had impressed on him it wasn’t the guys he needed to impress, it would be the girls looking for any excuse to tear him down. Making sure his hair fell perfectly in place he smiled at his own reflection. It looks fake, nervous, with an edge that most wouldn’t notice but most wasn’t good enough. He practised again until he could get it right consistently, inwardly reciting a mantra to calm his nerves.

A dance. Dances where places where things happened. Karma might disagree but that would be because for all his wit Karma still stubbornly thought of himself above it all. Dances were a time for politics, the small talk a flimsy cover for testing each other’s motivations, plans and ability to fulfil them.

Karma had already made his disdain obvious; this was a game he didn’t want to play. It would make it all the harder for Nagisa to get to see the board to see where the pieces fell…

Elegantly descending the stairs Nagisa puts a hand over the screen of Karma’s game to force him to pay attention.

“What do you think?” He says with a cute, charming smile. For all the world he sounds like any other girl excited to go to a fancy event.

Karma smirks like a demon and grabs his ass through the short skirt.

“Karma!” Nagisa scolds him.

The redhead’s smirk splits into a toothy grin as he gets his desired reaction.

“Isn’t your cover story that we’re still dating?” He points out in an infuriatingly reasonable tone.

“You wouldn’t treat a girl like this.” Nagisa points out and Karma hooks his arm around Nagisa’s waist while his other hand squeezes a surprisingly supple buttock.

“But you’re not a girl are you?” Karma leans in to whisper in Nagisa’s ear.

Nagisa snorts and ignores him. Karma’s grin shrinks as he doesn’t get the reaction he is looking for; Nagisa is too focused on the upcoming event to indulge him in banter.

They sit next to each other in the car largely without talking to each other. Terasaka compliments his dress, Nagisa replies appropriately and Karma says nothing.

It seems to be sinking it that Nagisa is actually irritated he didn’t tell him about the event earlier and, instead of trying to apologize and make up with him, Karma is sulking.

The smile he flashes stepping out of the limousine is fake even for him. Nagisa waits at his side with perfectly demure posture, his practised smile looking far more genuine than Karma’s. With a small stab of spite Nagisa drops into the persona he had adopted at the last meeting, clinging to his ‘boyfriend’s’ arm and cooing at the glitz and glamour.

He’s attended better. Things happened at dances, including mysterious and beautiful strangers being allowed near the social elite with minimal background checks.

There wasn’t even a metal detector, Nagisa thinks as they step inside. There were armed guards taking short patrols where the guests could clearly see them but it does nothing to reassure Nagisa. All the armed guards in the world couldn’t un-shoot Karma if one of these guests was a threat.

Karma, his client, is sulky. Nagisa guesses he had been hoping to wrangle some inappropriate intimacy out of him using his cover as an excuse. They were supposed to be dating after all and that meant acting lovey-dovey so everyone believed it. Nagisa knows his acting is fine. He clings to Karma and acts the star-struck airhead amazed at the venue, _all those decorative golden curls and pillars were sniper spots…_ and the food, _he didn’t have time to vet everything_ , and the guests, _who were all likely to stab everyone else in the back over inferior champagne._

Still, this doesn’t please Karma and, after Nagisa deflects his second attempt to grope him in front of the crowd, his client sulkily slips away while Nagisa is politely greeting another guest.

Well, it could be worse.

Nagisa had taken precautions. If Karma is more than thirty meters away from him the tracer he had planted in Karma’s clothes would alert him.

It doesn’t and Nagisa knows that Karma isn’t going to just storm out in a huff. He’s doing this because he wants Nagisa to come running after him. Well he’s just going to have to wait. Nagisa has other things he needs to do and other people he needs to talk to. When Karma’s decided to stop being such a baby he can come back over here and be sociable.

Nagisa has perfected the art of watching one thing while looking like you’re watching another, something Bitch-sensei taught well. He keeps track of Karma through the reflections in people’s glasses and off the shining decorations as he makes for the stairs leading to a quiet balcony.

There is a bigger game here that Karma is deliberately isolating himself from to play Casanova. When he stays in the area that Nagisa has already scoped out Nagisa lets his focus fade. He can trust Karma not to do anything stupid…no, he can’t really, but he can trust him not to do something stupid where Nagisa can’t see him.

He knew if his teachers saw him they would be disappointed he wasn’t doing to more to stick by his client. In his defence Karma was hardly the ideal client (read; a little shit) and he hadn’t much practice at being a bodyguard. This was a party, his assassin’s training was like a buzzing insect hovering by his ear, nagging him to do his duty and blend in, find the juiciest information and turn it against his target.

Karma, despite occasional proof to the contrary, wasn’t stupid, just self-absorbed. Nagisa wouldn’t be surprised if he had become a gang leader because he’d seen mafia movies on T.V. and thought it looked like fun. He cared about gunfights and threats, not the subtle insidiousness needed to win someone over.

As his bodyguard Nagisa needed to know where he stood and that meant getting in good with the other party guests. If Karma wanted to do something romantic and private later he would consider it but now was not the time.

“Nagi-chan~!” An excited squeal greets him as Rio moves through the crowd like a salmon upstream.

Those not knowledgeable in the ways of women would miss the way she digs in her elbows while wearing a deceptive smile. Those she shoves aside never realize it was her who shoved them, or are polite enough not to mention it.

“Rio-chan~!” He replies in an equally excited and bubbly voice.

Both were acting and both knew the other was as well.

Karma would never understand this, this two-faced way of negotiating that seemed to belong to the women of the world. Anyone dismissing them as gossiping girls wouldn’t be looking for the dagger before it was slid between their ribs and would die unaware of their assassin. Let fools be fooled and die ignorant. With a soft word, a light touch, they would move mountains.

Communication here was in the way of speaking, not in the words themselves and Nagisa had hoped he had found somewhat of an ally in Rio. They both knew where the other stood, what they wanted and the depths they would go to achieve it. This was not going to be a friendly conversation; this was a negotiation. 

"So, bodyguard, girlfriend, _and_ Yakuza." Rio commented giving Nagisa a critical look over from top to toe.

"Karma got quite the collection with you.” Her gaze continued thankfully overlooking his perhaps too-flat-for-a-girl chest to rest on the tattoos that peeked out underneath his feminine attire.

“I see he's still got a thing for bondage. He’s a man after my own heart." She cooed dramatically, taking the metal ring of his collar by the finger and tugging on it as she drew his body closer.

Nagisa wouldn't be the first to admit it was hard to tell if girls were being friendly or actually flirting but in cases like this, with the way Rio's arm has slid around his waist, leading him subtly to back against the wall it was blatantly obvious she was flirting.

"Too bad his interests are elsewhere.” She hummed in mock consideration, eyeing his outfit and curves again before whispering, “You look adorable in this outfit, I bet it would look even better crumpled at the foot of my bed in the morning."

Nagisa had read up on the informant’s file.  She rarely came to these events with a partner, instead she'd flaunt her looks and win herself the favour of free drinks from drooling males as she negotiated them out of pocket whilst looking for potential employees and picking up the odd partner here and there. Mostly of the female kind.

No doubt it's exactly what she was doing here too.

"You look stunning in yours." Nagisa commented shyly with the faintest hint of a blush to signify he’d understood the pickup. Even if Rio knew his identity as a bodyguard there were more than her eyes upon them. He still had a role to play and a gender to hide.

"Your tattoo looks gorgeous too. Lotus, black tulip, red camellia, and a tiger lily, it really suits you."

Rio simply smirked and confirmed Nagisa's initial theory as she slid a leg between his thighs causing him to tense. Thanking the creator of compression garments as the female’s leg threatened to lift his already incredibly short skirt.

"You're welcome to see the rest of it." Her face just inches from Nagisa's he visibly swallowed trying to keep that leg from pressing too far and enticing some unprofessional sound that would coax her on, or blow his cover.

"There’s a couple of lonely rooms down the hall looking for some action." Her voice dropped to a whisper, lips ghosting over the shell of his ear before giving it a teasing nip. "I'd like to get in before a certain _Golden Boy_ tries to make a move. All these gorgeous girls and the only one he hasn't stopped staring at is you. I'm sure some time alone would benefit both of us don't you think?" She added with a slow squeeze of his ass drawing out a small gasp.

Nagisa politely shook his head, balling his fists against the blonde’s chest as he gently pushed her away. His face a full on blush now as Rio’s smirk rivalled that of the Cheshire cat himself.

"S-Sorry, Rio-chan, but I must decline your offer."

The other simply pouted and pulled back from everything except her hold on Nagisa's waist, her usual demeanour back in and instant.

"Well that's a shame but I guess it can't be helped." She hummed and smiled warmly all the same. Women were a hundred times more terrifying then men.

Unsurprisingly, Rio didn’t leave his side. Instead she only pulled him as close as before. Arm wrapping around his neck while gesturing her glass in a subtle motion towards the other end of the room.

“The Golden Boy does look pretty lonely standing in the corner. You’d think he’d have better social skills with a father like Gakuho, but like many individuals here, it’s all just an act. If anything I’d say he’s about as socially awkward as our favourite redhead.”

“Masks keep us safe from our enemies.” Nagisa hummed while reaching out to take a sip of Rio’s drink. She’s had the glass for their entire conversation and she displayed no ill effects of the drink being tampered with and dubbed it safe enough to take a swing before returning it.

“I believe it’s time I pay _Shu-kun_ a visit.” He cooed in that playful singsong voice that made Rio’s smile widen, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to know that voice implied the feisty bodyguard intended to have her way with extracting information from the unsuspecting male.

“I suppose I should go check on Karma, no doubt he’d sulking over you ignoring him. Honestly I’m surprised you two are even still together. I guess the bodyguard aspect means the idiot has some degree of control over you.” Rio mused before taking another swing and giving Nagisa a playful kiss to his cheek, leaving the faintest trace of her nude lipstick behind.

“Have fun playing with Gakushu! You better tell me if you get up to anything kinky.” She called making a quick, sloppy blowjob gesture with her free hand before turning on heel to continue her tipsy trek to the stairs.

Shaking his head and giving out a small sigh, Nagisa turned his attention back to his target across the room and began to stalk his prey.

* * *

"You know I would have thought you'd be sticking closer to your bodyguard this time round, seeing as she's your girlfriend and all, or is that not the case?" Rio commented cooly, announcing her presence on the rooftop balcony as she came to sit next to a particularly bored and sulking redhead.

“I’m not in the mood, Rio.”

"If you really wanted some action we could fool around for a bit. I'd love to be the one to make the dominant Karma scream." She hummed leaning her frame over Karma's head purposefully pressing he breasts against the other male.

"I already told you it was a one night stand, nothing more, besides you've yet to prove that even happened in the first place." Karma insisted with a hint on annoyance.

They had been young and foolish on the drink. Even with a bunch of witnesses no one could confirm or deny the two had ended up in the same bed with sexual intentions. Karma had long since put Rio's claims down as simply trying to cover the lack of detail with boastful jests. It would be something she'd have done even back then. She wasn't particularly keen on flaunting _all_ of her assets back when they were all still relatively innocent.

"Is Nagisa going to be a one night stand too? If you fucked her already you wouldn't be this restless. I can’t imagine someone with a body like _that_ being bad in bed."

"I'm not restless I just hate social events. Besides, Nagisa isn't your _preferred_ type, he's a _guy_.” The redhead smirked holding up his phone with a couple photos he'd managed to snag of Nagisa when he wasn't pinned to the ground or otherwise denied. It was hard to tell but even clothed photos should be close enough.

"No way!" Rio said in astonishment, swiping the photo from Karma's hand to stare at Nagisa's chest. She figured he was just incredibly flat not the complete opposite gender.

"Well, I'm not really the one you should be worried about." She began, voice returning to its more casual and sinister tones as she handed back the device while wrapping around the redhead’s neck to whisper, "You do realise you've left Nagisa in a room of perverts, and _Gakushu._ "

Karma visibly stiffened at the mention of the other's name. Rio had him hook line and sinker.

"They've been together for over 30 minutes now I wonder what's happened. Perhaps he'll entice away another one of your 'girls’. A blind bat could see Nagisa isn't very smitten with you we're all impressed it's lasted so long Mr. One-Week."

Karma’s knuckles turn white as he balls his fists. Biting his lip to refrain from openly lashing out and giving Rio the reaction she desired.

"A client-bodyguard relationship sounds pretty one sided don't you think? I wonder if Nagisa can't openly turn you down-"

"Don't you have anything better to do?" Karma finally snapped, pulling away from the other and returning to his feet.

“Well I _could_ go back and feel up your girlfriend and confirm your gender claim.  Or I could just ask Gakushu.”

“Okay that’s enough, I get it, I’m going back now.” Karma huffed trying to ease the sudden uneasiness in his gut at the idea of someone taking advantage of Nagisa. It wasn’t like the assassin couldn’t take care of himself, it was more, and Karma didn’t know where his loyalties truly lay. Since his contract Karma had refrained from slipping down to the bar to drink and buy sex, but he couldn’t determine if Nagisa had opted for any form of chastity.

Descending the stairs at a quickening pace, he hoped Nagisa would stick to their cover and not go off to fuck anyone else at this event.

* * *

It was funny how someone could be drunk enough to think they had a chance while being too sober to fall over, but it was looking like a close thing.

Or was that supposed to be dancing?

Nagisa kept his thoughts behind a polite mask but this type could have come off a conveyor belt; Straight Rich White Boy MkII with his ass hanging out of his pants, sixteen and already drunk on daddy’s trust fund. Nagisa feels like he should probably be offended but as far as targets went this guy would have been outpaced by a fish in a barrel. He was as threatening as bathroom mould and as pathetic as a Magikarp using Splash (some of Karma’s gaming talk rubbed off on him.)

“Hey sweet thing, why don’t I buy you a drink?” He slurs, probably thinking he sounds cool, and tries to put an arm around Nagisa’s shoulder.

“No thank you.” Nagisa keeps his tone level.

He could pass for eighteen, sixteen with prep work but he was sure he’d never been that young. He wanted to send this boy home to his parents and scold them for not taking better care of their child.

“Hey, wait…” The drunk reaches towards him and actually ends up grabbing his arm.

Nagisa sighs internally, not wanting to put something pointy someplace tender just because some poor sap was worse for the drink.

He scanned the room around him and, hello, his honed assassin instincts rang a little golden bell.

The assassin made eye contact with his ‘target’ and mouthed ‘save me’ across the ballroom. They took the bait and put down their glass on the table.

“There you are.” Gakushu exclaimed and the drunk wilted like a salted slug. Or an old lettuce leaf. Nagisa always thought of the best things to say when he couldn’t say them.

"Thank you for saving me there, I owe you one." Nagisa sighed, playfully entwining his hands with Gakushu's own as the blonde male pulled them to a quieter corner of the room.

"No need to thank me, anything for a fine lady such as yourself." He replies cooly pulling Nagisa's hand up to place a princely kiss to the knuckle.

Nagisa chuckled cutely at the notion and leaned against the taller male as their hands slid apart.

“Are you flirting with me?”

The little bounce in Nagisa's motion as she fluttered long lashes innocently made Gakushu’s heart skip a beat. The uniform at their meetings prior were attractive on the smaller female but this attire highlighted every one of Nagisa's features including those beautiful, slim, athletic legs, and cute ass too. He had to force himself to stop staring since the moment she walked in. He wouldn't mind, if the situation presented itself, resting his head between those thighs and leaving telltale marks of red in his wake.

“I was simply stating a fact.”

Gakushu tried to push down those unsavoury thoughts as Nagisa press his body against the blonde’s chest. Eyes as blue as a summer morning sky watched the way a blush tinted his cheeks and his heart began to quicken. Nagisa’s breasts were _squished_ against him.

“I wouldn’t mind if you were flirting.” Nagisa hummed quietly. Hands snaking their way around the taller male’s neck as he shifted on tip toes to kiss the tip of his nose.

“I've actually been meaning to talk to you."

“What about?” Gakushu cursed as his voice wavered. The sound of his heart pounding in his ears, he swore Nagisa could hear it too. Those lidded eyes and adorable pout were so enticing he felt all but powerless to fight back.

“What you do? Ka-chan barely talks business with me and I’m _dying_ to know about what goes on outside of those meetings. I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes. Won’t you please tell me?” His voice fell into that sickingly sweet tone he used when a victim fell under his spell.

Bitch-sensei had taught him early on the tone he used would influence how someone would treat him. Gakushu was an easy case. He talked big, played the role of a dutiful son, but pull him away from the social expectations and talk to him as a human, he melted into that of a teenage boy. They were easy to persuade.

“What do you know? We can go from there.”

“Only that Karma owns the South, Ryuki the West, Rio the East, and yourself the North.”

Gakushu forced a laugh and the words cascaded from his mouth, Nagisa’s curious eyes drinking in every bit of information only encouraging him on.

“My _father_ owns the North, I’m simply his heir born and bred to succeed him and take over the others.

“Rio as you know, is an informant, her network operates silently within her territory and elsewhere. There’s no defining marks to its members and they interchange frequently enough it’s near impossible to track any one down. Her territory is the smallest but her influence arguably is the largest. Rio presents herself as the head and even if you do not know her, you will know the flower tattoo down her right side. She makes a point to draw attention to herself while her people work in the shadows. Rio’s territory also harbours a tattooist by the name of Sosuke who is known to do gang markings without question and for a reasonable price.

“Karma’s territory is and my own are about the same. The Akabane’s have their foot in all the major casinos so bodyguards usually start off as bouncers thinking they can handle Karma’s antics in hopes of a pay raise. As you can imagine they quickly decided the pay wasn’t worth the trouble. A word to the wise, never accept a game of poker with Karma. He took in a group of ruffians and brought them into the Akabane family as his muscle, while it means his force is often predictable, they’re not the type to back down from a fight. The Akabane’s bear a tattoo of a winged demon down their back although there are speculations the highest members bear dual winged tattoos. Karma’s parents are seldom home so Karma has a large degree of freedom that’s promoted a reckless nature. He can get away with it because he’s intelligent enough to know when to stop before it will come back to haunt him.

“Ryuki on the other hand, holds the largest territory and the biggest number of members. The territory is too large for Ryuki to control himself so he has a group of gang heads beneath him ensuring everything functions semi decently. The gang heads has two dragons tattooed across their back while everyone else has a single dragon on the back of their calf. They’re mostly made up of high schoolers and dropouts making a couple dollars off petty crime and odd jobs. They don’t bother us and we don’t bother them. While there are valuable resources within the area, Ryuki is too simpleminded to utilize them. We keep him in power to keep everyone in check and because anyone else might actually pose a threat to the balance.”

Nagisa nodded and at some point had slipped his tired arms around the other’s waist as he noted the way Gakushu talked with respect for Rio, a sort of jealously for Karma, and outright looking down on Ryuki. When he got to talking, Gakushu gave away an abundance of tells.

“Is there much conflict between the gangs? Ryuki’s gangs don’t cross the borders and try to cause havoc in your territory?”

“Small conflicts do happen from time to time, but that’s common nature. My father believes reclaiming the four territories and ruling them himself is the only way to maintain absolute balance, but his thinking is flawed and his intention is to have puppet rulers would deny everyone of free will. He wasn’t always like that however. It was because of him the four territories even exist in the first place. Carving it right out of the hands of petty gangs and assembling a council of himself and three of his most valued students to create a more prosperous, civil union. Until an outside conflict saw one of his students assassinated. The other two disbanded and my father drifted towards insanity.”

“What happened to the other two?” Nagisa pressed. The conversation was enlightening. At the same time he’d received his contract from the Akabane family, Korosensei had also presented him with a contract from Gakuho Asano. Nagisa wondered if his son had any knowledge of this contract’s existence and judging from the conversation thus far, Gakushu was simply biding his time to overthrow his father’s influence. That conflicted with the proposed contract.

“They disbanded and that’s when our generation started moving in. It’s been 18 years since then, I was 6 at the time, and control shifted for ages as everyone fought for power until it was settled with the current four, although we sort of let Ryuki stay in power to keep everyone in check and keep someone agreeable at the table. He talks big but only his numbers benefit him.”

Gakushu had lost track of how long he’d been talking but even after his ramble Nagisa didn’t appear the slightest bit bored. It gave him an odd sense of pride that someone wanted to hear what he had to say. Compared to home, he felt like a child getting excited over their favourite super hero series. It was relaxing. Nagisa was relaxing.

The blonde male had fallen into silence simply admiring the smaller body in front of him. Nagisa tilted her head to the side and her long blue locks fell like a waterfall under the weight of gravity.

“I wouldn’t mind spending more time with you.” The words fell innocently from his lips before he could stop and Nagisa giggled and entwined one hand and tugging gently towards the center of the room.

At some point the crowd had separated to make way for mood lighting and a small disco ball that glistened and danced coloured across the wall and floor as soothing music played from the dj’s panel.

“Rio made a similar offer.”

Gakushu’s flush returned. He had seen how direct and blunt Rio’s ‘offers’ could be.

“I’m surprised you’re not hitting the sheets with her.” Gakushu admitted awkwardly trying to clear his throat and mind of the returning images of Nagisa in compromising and likely kinky positions Rio would put the smaller in before having her ‘fun.’

“Rio’s nice, but I’m not into girls in that way.” Nagisa smiled playfully, watching the way Gakushu’s eyes lit up in the realization he might actually have a chance.

“I do owe you still.” Nagisa chimed, looking over to the couples dancing slowly to the rhythm of the music and Gakushu couldn’t help but smile.

“May I have this dance, Nagisa?”

The blue haired female seemed to hum for a moment in contemplation; perhaps sparing a passing thought for her redheaded partner before taking Gakushu’s awaiting hand.

There was a certain kind of bounce in her long locks as Nagisa practically skipped into his gentle tug towards the depths of the dance floor.

“You know, I seldom get to dance with Karma’s date until he screws up more obviously.” He mused as they stepped in time to the soothing jazz of room. Nagisa had to give him credit for trying to extract information out of him in the comfort of a dance. Too bad he was trying to pull blood from a stone. Nagisa turned the conversation back on him.

“You get to dance with his partners often do you?” He pouted while leaning closer, just short of their bodies touching. “That hurts me, Shu-kun, am I just another girl to you too? You don’t have a girlfriend right?”

The taller male bit his lip wanting to retract his statement in an instant. Hands coming up as he attempted to stutter out an apology.

“No, no! I mean. Yes it happens relatively often with events like these, Karma can’t hold a date more than a fortnight at the most, but no, you’re not just some other girl. They weren’t just other girls, it didn’t work out we just didn’t go for another date after that. I’m rambling I’m sorry.”

The words fell from his mouth and Nagisa had to fight back the urge to curl over laughing at the broken display. The golden boy really had no clue how to talk to anyone. He wouldn’t be surprised if Gakushu had never dated before on account of his father’s approval. Poor boy.

“So you view this as a date then? Even though I’m here with Ka-chan? How terrible of you.” His playful smirk turning to a fit of giggles as a look of horror washed over Gakushu’s face as he shook his head. He felt like a fox playing with a crippled chicken. 

“What I meant to say was,” Gakushu finally seemed to reign in some kind of control over his babbling and took a deep breath to calm his racing thoughts. “What I would give, to steal you away for a day. Date or not, I wouldn’t mind the chance to get to know you better.”

“What makes you think I’m worth knowing?” Nagisa countered while pulling back, only to be pulled back into a steady renewal of their dance.

“I could shower you in compliments, but you just feel like someone I want to know more.”

Gakushu listened to the small hum of approval as his eyes searched for what the intriguing female may be thinking but she gave nothing away. Gently correcting the placement of his hand from his ass to his waist, Nagisa opted to simply enjoy the next few songs together before the desire for water became too great to ignore.

It was nice, Nagisa decided, to actually enjoy a moment in someone’s company. Gakushu was easy to be around. He was so smitten with the assassin he dropped his guard and Nagisa could simply go with the flow.

Gakushu however was nervous again.

Placing his drink down on the table back in their little corner by the small sandwiches and punch, he turned to the smaller figure and spoke.

“May I...” His voice was hesitant, the inner workings of his mind as clear as day to Nagisa’s gaze. “May I kiss you?”

 _Finally_ , some decency instead of people copping a feel or attempting to steal a kiss left right and centre. Gakushu had treated him well so far. Decency should be rewarded.

“You may.” He replied in the cutest, sing-song way, he could practically see the other’s heart skip a beat.

Pushing up on tiptoe as Gakushu leaned down to peck his lips ever so gently. It was almost as if he were afraid Nagisa would shatter beneath him. How cute.

In Nagisa’s opinion the kiss was much too short, or maybe he was just desperate. Despite playing the role of Karma’s girlfriend, they had done little in the way of actual romantic partner stuff. He was much too busy playing babysitter to even visit the bar down the road for a quick fix.

As Gakushu pulled away, Nagisa chased after him, reconnecting their lips in a desire for _more_.

Gakushu’s eyes widened in shock, but he did not pull back again. Kissing back with his hands about Nagisa’s waist, enjoying the attention the other was so willing to give. He was wrapped around Nagisa’s little finger like the pawn he was.

A gentle, coaxing, intimate kiss. Nagisa felt the curious gaze of onlookers around them as Gakushu relaxed into the kiss with a quiet moan. Mirroring Nagisa’s movements as he grew more daring, he was completely lost in his infatuation, it was like being on cloud nine.

Changing the angle slightly, Nagisa shifted to run the very tip his tongue along the seam of Gakushu’s lips enticing an almost kitten-like mewl as he playfully nipped at his kiss-swollen bottom lip.

Curious dancers weren’t the only eyes on them. As Nagisa make a particularly harsh bite to Gakushu’s bottom lip they were abruptly pulled apart by an incredibly jealous Karma. The result of which tore the lip between his teeth, the pained hiss all but drowned out by the redhead’s frustration.

“ _What the heck are you doing?_ ”

Gakushu’s tongue instinctively swiped over his stinging lip and the warm metallic taste of blood entered his mouth, swiftly pulling a handkerchief from his breast pocket to stop the flow.

“Ka-chan, you’re going to make a scene.” Nagisa chastised, his gaze returning to Gakushu is a silent apology for accidently wounding the male.

“You’re _my_ girlfriend, not _his._ ” Karma continued ignoring the defiant ‘I can hear you’ from the other.

“If you actually _cared_ about _me_ then you wouldn’t have ditched me so readily when I didn’t play along, you may as well have just stood me up and gone home!” Nagisa countered, pulling away from the redhead’s grasp as he mentally worked himself up enough to play the role of an upset girlfriend. The action instantly gaining him sympathy points from the growing crowd.

Karma was becoming very aware of the eyes upon them, the critical eye of Gakushu upon him, he hated the spotlight being on himself like this. They were drawing too much attention, he could feel his anxiety clawing away at the back of his mind. Bowing his head in semblance of an apology, he took a deep breath and admitted his intention.

“I ditched because I felt bad about earlier and hoped you might follow me so we could spend time together.”

“It would have been more romantic to at least ask me to dance before pulling me away.” Nagisa replied bluntly and Karma seemed to take the hint he had once again, fucked up.

Like a scolded puppy, his demeanour changed instantly. Head still drooped and shoulders hunched, he made a quiet plead to try again and Nagisa humoured him. Watching as his client slipped away to seek out the man in charge of the dance floor.

He’d be back to normal Karma soon. He’d choose a song that suited him and put him back in control of the situation. He did come back so Nagisa owed him at least that much. There were worse things he could be doing instead of jumping back on the thought train to win Nagisa over.

His attention turned back to Gakushu who’s lip had since stopped bleeding, leaving behind a rather nasty cut. Perhaps Gakuho would see it as a means to assert dominance over Gakushu and bend him to his will instead of an accident.

“I’ll never understand him. I don’t like these events as much as the next guy, but slipping his bodyguard _again_? He either has a death wish or takes some sick satisfaction in forcing them all to quit. I almost feel bad for his latest bodyguard. Regardless of whether myself or someone else here pulled a gun on him and shot him where he stands, his bodyguard will be gone before the week is out. He needs to find a competent one soon or his seat will grow cold too-”

In an instant there was what felt like a blade to his throat. Gakushu hesitated to swallow as his gaze revealed no blade of metal but simply the edge of Nagisa's hand against his throat, eyes damn near _glowing_ and dripping with bloodlust.

Before the other even spoke it dawned on the golden boy he'd not only been in the company of Karma’s bodyguard the entire time, but indirectly insulted her to her face.

As Gakushu went to apologise the hand was withdrawn and Karma had returned to almost childishly tug Nagisa back onto the floor. Nagisa wasn’t about to let Karma have his way with such an un-gentlemanly performance and soon enough had the taller male fumbling as he assumed the ‘female’ role of their dance. But that all changed when the next song begun.

A much faster beat than the one Nagisa had slow danced with Gakushu to. It was big and flashy, Dance with Me, a ballroom style tango that felt oddly fitting of Karma’s character.  Surprisingly not the craziest song that had played this evening, but by the way the crowd began to disperse to the edges it was clear this would spark a time for the various families to make a final impression on the night. 

“You’re a spoilt brat you know that. I was hired to keep that reckless nature of yours in check before you got yourself killed.” He scolded quietly. There was no denying Karma was an absolute handful, a rich kid who was left to his own devices and growing arrogant in the sense he would always get what he wanted. That’s why his father had to call in a favour to his boss to station someone with an equal amount of stubbornness as the redhead himself to keep him in line.

Still for all his flaws, there was an increasingly almost likeable quality to Karma he’d come to realise while working for him. At the back of his mind however he couldn’t help but wonder how much of that was for show, how much of this supposed _affection_ for him was real. He’d had a lot of clients in his time as an assassin, as of yet Karma had given him no _real_ reason to believe he was any different.

It was easy enough for someone to pretend they cared...

Karma however, had his attention elsewhere. Confidence practically oozed from his body and his posture was perfect. His head held high, straight spine and chest lifted, a raised left hand while the right wrapped around to Nagisa’s back. Falling into place Nagisa tentatively moved his hands into position too. The tango was one among many dances Irina had taught him, and while he was skilled enough to pull off any with a sort of refined precision, he couldn’t help but feel he was at a disadvantage.

The song picked up and all eyes were on them. Nagisa was careful to mirror Karma’s steps as he first dished out the basics. Backward with his right, backward with his left, backward with his right, to the left with his left, feet together, then moving right to meet left.

He hadn’t had the pleasure of dancing the tango in a while, nor had he had any real chance to practice his skills being at Karma’s side for 80% of his day.

He was on edge however, even as they repeated the basic steps Nagisa could feel it was leading up to something more. Karma was dancing with such grace when the rotations began and the pace began to quicken. Nagisa began to lose himself in the dance, giving up his struggle to keep up and match the redhead as he threw in more and more complex steps.

Rocking to the beat and longer strides Nagisa cursed Karma’s legs for being so long. He simply let the other take charge as they graced the dance floor with fluid steps.

Then came the swivels and turns, it left him breathless as Karma managed to stay eight steps ahead of him, planning the next lot of steps before Nagisa even had time to try and bring the dance back into his favour. Despite the relative shortness of his skirt and practically flashing the crowd with every quick move, he was glad it allowed for this degree of movement, no doubt something the redhead had in mind when choosing this option. In honestly he was just glad his dick was hidden.  

The song could not have been more than 3 minutes long, but it felt like an eternity, and soon enough his body began to tire at the professional level of dancing his body was not used to. Leaning his weight against Karma’s body, he tried to relieve the ache in his feet.

Karma obviously took it as a victory and as the song drew to a close, he held his partner close and dipped him in front of the crowd and stole a kiss.

Payback for kissing Gakushu he presumed, except it backfired almost catastrophically. As Karma’s tongue invaded his mouth, it came to the startling realisation there was something round and metal in the middle of his tongue.

The noise he would have made would have not only ruined the mood but run the risk of exposing their little sham of being partners. Surely Karma would know if his partner always wore a tongue piercing.

Trusting Karma to support his weight, Nagisa wrapped his arms around the redhead and forbid him from pulling back. Deepening their kiss and taking over as he coaxed the taller male into calming down and continuing their illusion to the crowd.

Wolf whistles and cheers resounded from the crowd as their regular music was brought back to play and partners filed back onto the dance floor as the duo righted themselves, Karma with the most satisfactory smirk spread across his face.

This only served to make the assassin more bitter than before.

Nagisa dropped his guard for all of a moment as he dragged Karma to the side after their dance to quickly scold his childish jealousy when Rio, out of nowhere, had crossed the dance floor with practised ease to not only join their discussion, but promptly come up behind Nagisa and grope his lack of breasts causing the smaller male to let out a rather undignified scandalized squeal.

"That was quite the performance there." The female’s voice reassured him she was a friend not a foe allowing Nagisa to relax his instinctive move to grab her by the head and snap her neck.

Rio flashed him a look of respect as she acknowledged how ready he was to act.

Karma seemed to miss the subtle taunt to fight assuming Nagisa was simply reacting to being touched, as was the rest of the hall that turned their gaze towards them momentarily before returning to their activities. To them Rio was just being Rio.

“The slow dance was cute but that dip was _fantastic_.” Rio commented, watching as Nagisa’s lowered his hands in a more relaxed gesture.

“I’m always up for a good love scandal. Gender isn’t an issue, my offer still stands if you ever want to hit the sheets with me.” She whispers into Nagisa’s ear as her fingers rub and cup his chest. Fingers searching eagerly for any means to slip under the fabric and confirm that Karma was not pulling her leg, and Nagisa was indeed male.

Nagisa squirmed under her touch. His cover demanded he feel offend and in some way uncomfortable but Rio reminded him so much of his sensei he felt almost at home. Polishing his skills, it felt like this was simply training to ensure he could watch his surroundings while working.

Karma on the other hand seemed to be smirking, silently hoping Nagisa would whine cutely for him to call Rio’s ‘attack’ off. Having missed the blonde’s quiet comment he took a moment to boast about his dancing skills and how the Tango was his favourite form of dance taught to him by his mother.

Rio listened as her fingers finally found an opening. Slipping them through the ribbon braid decoration on the left of his shirt to play with a nipple, drawing out a small gasp as Nagisa arched his back trying to shy away and bite his lip.

“Well what do you know, Karma wasn’t lying.”

Nagisa shot the redhead a look of ‘you _told_ her?’ before Rio rolled him between her thumb and forefinger. His blush was back full force as Rio was now pressed more or less flush against his back, her head resting on Nagisa’s shoulder while humming her approval.

“Imagine Gakushu’s reaction when he finds out. I bet he wouldn’t mind, maybe he’d ask you to wear the skirt.”

Something inside Karma snapped at that comment. Shooing Rio away a moment later and pulling Nagisa’s frame close to his body, he ended the conversation abruptly with a desire to go home.

Ignoring Rio’s knowing smirk she’d struck a nerve as well as her overly cheerful farewell that Nagisa responded to with equal amounts of enthusiasm.

The walk to the lobby was met with the silence Nagisa had come to recognize as his client sulking.

Any attempts at small talk from himself and individuals littering the hallway was promptly brushed off with the raise of a hand. It seemed to be a universal sign Karma wasn’t in the mood to talk.

Regardless of his client’s feelings, overall the event had provided him with a lot of information into the way the society worked and the people themselves. Perhaps most surprising was the realization Gakushu, when taken out of his element, was in no way like his father. He began to understand the claims of the younger Asano wanting to overthrow his senior.

The front doors opened before them and the duo was met by the pleasant cool air of a spring night. The temperature was much nicer out here then the collective heat of bodies crammed into a room.

Terasaka had parked the car two blocks away. Despite Karma’s repetitive harassing to leave early to get a decent park, the larger male had left too late and as expected there were no parks close to the venue.

The duo walked side by side, hands ghosting over the other’s as Karma groaned and rubbed the back of his neck. He couldn’t really blame Nagisa for being mad at him. Between the delayed invitation, shoving him into a skirt, promptly ditching him, and letting his jealousy result in him literally stealing a kiss, he had it coming.

If anything he felt bad for his lack of communication.

“You look like you had fun.” He forces himself to say, drawing the other’s gaze for a moment as the smaller male looked happily to the starry sky.

“I gathered a lot of intel. It was a successful night even if it had its moments.”

Karma frowned, watching the pavement as they walked.

“What did Rio whisper to you anyway?” It wasn’t what he wanted to say, he was procrastinating from the actual apology that caught itself in his throat. It wasn’t like he wouldn’t admit he was wrong and joke about the situation. But everything seemed so much harder when Nagisa was involved. He felt like he was walking the razor’s edge.

Nagisa simply sighed.

“She was reminding me how majority of the room were trying to get into my pants.”

“You mean your skirt?” Karma let slip before he could stop the joking tone. Nagisa promptly shot him a disapproving glance.

“And you didn’t take up anyone on their offer? I’m honoured.” He hums, feeling a little at ease at the way Nagisa promptly looked away in a small playful huff.

“Y’know I was really hoping you were going to come after me like all the other bodyguards.” The redhead finally felt comfortable admitting. Except unlike his other bodyguards, Karma was devoid of the intent to torment them by pretending he’d jump from the top floor and if they were a good bodyguard they wouldn’t let him hit the ground.

“I don’t like these events, I’m sure you don’t like being put in skirts, I was hoping we could talk on the rooftop together and watch the city nightlife. But I guess it just ended up being work, like always...” He added looking downcast.

Karma was under the assumption this was the only way he could ever ask Nagisa out on a date, if he combined it with work functions then the other couldn’t really refuse him and he could try to genuinely flirt with the attractive male else he’d be shut down instantly just as he had been when they went for sushi together.

“I’m sorry for ruining your plans for the evening and pulling you into the dance like that.” _I just got really jealous seeing you with someone that wasn’t me._ He finished to himself.

They weren’t even dating yet he was being so possessive of the other. These emotions of not only liking the assassin but _like_ liking Nagisa confused him immensely. Nagisa was the first person he wholeheartedly didn’t want to screw and call it a day. He wanted to do more with Nagisa. He wanted him to stay. He wanted him to be the one that would stay.

Nagisa studied Karma’s expression and felt perhaps one of the first stabs of guilt that Karma had indeed been genuine. He clicked his tongue and gently bumped into his side, drawing the other’s gaze.

“If you want to go on a date you have to ask first.” He states outright. “When we attend an event that makes it business surely you should know that right?”

Karma’s ‘okay’ was barely above a whisper but Nagisa could tell the other’s mood had lightened a little.

“Even if I did ask though, would you even say yes?” His voice was weak and he hated it, but Nagisa simply giggled cutely and entwined their fingers, swinging them gently as they rounded the corner to the car.

“I wouldn’t say yes if you invited me to a ball, but if you want to hang out sometime then maybe.”


	5. April

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone save these idiots in love lmao.  
> Apologies for the late update, the new work roster has messed up my routine something wicked.

"Y'know sometimes I feel like I'm right and I don't need a bodyguard." Karma mused while playing with Nagisa's hair as the smaller boy sat comfortably in his lap. By now everyone was well aware Nagisa was Karma's bodyguard and the object of his undivided affection. Whether they were actually dating or not was left to rumour and debate, neither giving a straightforward answer.

"I mean I haven't had a single thug in my doorstep in months."

"Maybe that's because your bodyguard is actually doing her job." Gakushu scoffed beating Nagisa to the punch of witty remarks.

"Perhaps you don't need my services then." The smaller male's eyes grew cold as his head tilted in such a way that would have looked cute if a shiver of fear didn't just creep up his spine.

"You wouldn't last a week without Nagisa." Rio declared. She was far from blind as to see what power Karma would gain with an ally like Nagisa. If there was an opportunity to drive a wedge between the two she would pounce on it like a cat with a laser light.

It had to be done in short bursts. Small gentle nudges in the right way. She needed Nagisa's favour without making herself a target.

Naturally Karma fell for the bait.

"Try me, blondie." Karma smirked, leaning back in his seat in a superior manner. Even if he lost Nagisa, he had the utmost confidence Terasaka and his gang could see him through if he didn't hog all the limelight for himself.

A switch then flicked in Nagisa's mind. His compliance to control the table from his spot in Karma's lap gone in an instant as he removed himself with a disappointed frown.

"Well then, maybe I should spend some time with someone who would actually appreciate my services." Nagisa replied in a deceptively sing-song tone. Tilting his head to the side once more and looking down on Karma like the mouse he was beneath his serpent-like gaze. "Have fun sitting alone for the rest of the meeting, Kachan."

Karma's eyes knitted together as the other turned his back, rounding the table and swinging his hips in just the right way, Nagisa made sure the eyes of the table were on him. Stopping in front of Gakushu to hoisting himself up on the table, his bright blue eyes bore down into brown.

The room was silent, five sets of eyes watching intently as he stripped off Karma's favourite shirt, folding it up, and placing on the table before edging a little closer.

"May I?" Without looking he could just feel the way Karma's eyes had turned from playful to betrayed as Nagisa eased himself into Gakushu's lap. The blonde haired male freezing in place as the smaller turned in place to face the table. Wrapping his arms around his neck loosely he breathed a satisfied sigh in his new spot.

Ryuki was the first to break the silence with a remark saying if there's anyone man enough for a pretty lady like him to be sitting in it would have to be his. He was bigger and obviously the better choice in laps to sit on.

Leaning back just enough to press his body flush, his shirt rode up just enough to show the faintest hint of his bra.

"If I sit in your lap won't you try to touch me like Kachan does too?"

"I'd take you out for a drink first, then show you a good ole time." Was the haughty retort as he glanced smugly at Karma's form.

Nagisa hoped his client could hold in his jealousy long enough to implement his plan.

The Asano family had recently acquired a significant portion of territory on its borders particularly around the back end of the West. Korosensei believed Asano was seeking a way to scoop up mass amounts of territory in one hit and it was something that needed to be stopped.

Losing the bet with Karma and allowing the redhead to dress him had worked well within his favour.

The tights, the booty short, the bracelets and collar, and the custom crop top that forced him to wear his fake breasts and bra had been the perfect disguise to entice the room with his body alone.

The only issue he had was that shirt screaming 'Fuck me I'm Karma Akabane's.'

He'd have to work his way around Gakushu with that one. Luckily the boy was smitten with him and while there hadn't been much more than the polite flirting between their text exchanges, he knew full well the blonde male couldn't keep his eyes off him.

"Tell you what, if Shu-kun touches me I'll come over and sit in your lap."

Ryuki seemed to accept this bargain and as if on cue he felt the way Gakushu twitched. The Asano child was a stubborn male much like Karma, if it meant he didn't have to let go of Nagisa he wouldn't touch a single hair upon his head.

From the corner of his eye he could see Rio smirking.

Of course she knew the assassin was up to something, she could feel the way he coiled around each and every member in the room like a deadly serpent ready to strike and keep everyone in line. She wanted Nagisa as an ally and in doing so meant she would have to go with the current instead of fighting it. As long as she played by his rules she would not be targeted and in something almost akin to a reward, staying on the sidelines meant she could better analyse the propositions Nagisa coaxed the group into making and reap the rewards of their loose ends.

If anyone thought they were in control of the city they'd be dead within a day. The true ruler was the Yakuza and in this room, one of its finest assassin's. The city belonged to Nagisa.

"He can trust Karma not to do anything stupid." Rio had once said to her go-to man and tattooist, Sugaya Sousuke. "No, he can't really, but he can trust him not to do something stupid where Nagisa can't see him."

Nagisa was a master of discretion. Seducing the room or seducing the one. No matter how many people in the room, he would find a way to claim his target.

The only threat was Karma and his jealousy would keep him in place much as his embarrassment had in their first meeting.

As Gakushu attempted to resume their meeting Nagisa set to work derailing his train of thought.

While Gakushu appeared to be in control and proud, he was the same as Karma, hiding the more sensitive side that desired someone to understand and give them attention, the charity event alone gave him more than enough proof of that. This was child's play he almost didn't even need to try.

Shifting in place, Nagisa feigned snuggling more comfortably in Gakushu's lap, adjusting his position in such a way to read over the array of notes on the table in front of them.

They were the usual business minutes from the current meeting and old, as well as the recently claimed territories and the faintest outline of meeting intentions in the handwriting he recognized as Gakushu's father's.

As an added precaution to ensure the blonde didn't catch his game, Nagisa subtly rocked his ass in the other's lap.

While you couldn't tell from his face, the pen taking notes begun to shake and his breathing began to quicken.

Rio seemed to notice too, impressed with how quick he was to make Gakushu crumble. Her gaze shifting to Ryuki who still appeared to be pouting perhaps realising Gakushu wouldn't break to touch leaving his lap ever cold like his demeanour. She didn't even need to look at Karma to know he was burning with jealousy. While she guessed he didn't know exactly what Nagisa was doing he knew something was happening. Spending that much time with Nagisa he couldn't have picked up nothing about the way the assassin acted when he was in the zone.

Karma wouldn't be keeping Nagisa for long at this rate, she chuckled to herself. The meetings hadn't been this interesting in a long time.

The short shorts really had been a mistake on Karma's behalf.  As he moved they rode up the crease of his as like summers swimming thong. His bountiful ass slipping perfectly down the sides of Gakushu's growing erection. This was too easy.

Karma too was getting more restless, no doubt he noticed the way Gakushu had all but stopped taking minutes and his focus on forming coherent sentences slowly became more apparent.

Karasuma had been watching from his own spot around the table. While not directly involving himself in the meeting, he served as a mediator incase things got out of hand and to ensure the territories were not stepping on Yakuza toes. In addition to his usual duties, the dark haired male had been observing Nagisa's progress and relaying the information back to the family. They'd charged Nagisa with this contract for many reasons but as it stood there was little progress on their desired outcome.

Nagisa still played everyone in the room as his pawns without much regard for their actual feelings. While this was a dog eat dog world, there was no way the small assassin could be integrated back into society if he couldn't open himself to some of the basic human emotions.

He was too work based. He, as much as everyone else in the room needed to be taken down a notch.

"Oi Nagisa, if you're going to be that cuddly with him why don't you just fuck him already." The words droned out as Karma held his head in hand, leaning against the table and gaze shooting daggers at his assassin.

"Fuck you, Karma." Came the almost uncharacteristic response from Gakushu. He rarely swore and whenever he did it always sounded too polite.

"Maybe, if you ask nicely." A grin tugged at the redhead’s face.

"Maybe we'll invite Nagisa along too, she's real good in bed. I'd be happy to show you." He continued trying to bring the situation back in his favour. At the same time Nagisa leaned up and tightened his grip on the back of Gakushu's hair to pull him close enough to whisper sweetly, "Or perhaps you'd rather keep me for yourself?"

The two questions put him in a position he couldn't answer.

If he said no, then he'd be denying the pleasurable way Nagisa continued to tease his erection and risk Nagisa leaving him for, heavens forbid, Ryuki.

If he said yes, then he'd be agreeing to sex with his rival and only if he was lucky, maybe Nagisa.

The predicament left him speechless and once again Rio picked up the slack as Ryuki scoffed in disapproval.

"Well are you going to answer?" She said with an almost Cheshire cat grin.

Gakushu's mouth opened to reply but Nagisa cut him off. Running his tongue along the underside of the male's jaw ignoring the redhead entirely.

"Perhaps two is enough. Kachan did say if I was being this cuddly I may as well just fuck you right?" He questioned with such innocence it was difficult to believe the words that dripped from his mouth.

"I'm getting excited, Shu-kun, you can keep the meeting going without trying to feel me up right? I'll promise to make you feel good." The pleasant words continued and Gakushu could only swallow the lump in his throat and nod, much to Nagisa's satisfaction.

Shifting is spot into a more comfortable one for his intentions, Nagisa settled himself in Gakushu's lap, hands bracing himself on the table and ass pressed flush to the tent in the male's pants.

It was a rare sight to see an expression other than blank or smirking on the golden boy's face. Red coloured his face from ears to neck as he bit into his lip to refrain from any pleasurable gasps and rising urge to rock his hips against the pressure as he tried to focus on the meeting at hand.

Rio contemplated grabbing her phone but the ominous aura of Karma’s jealousy spilled into the room like poisonous gas as he tried to contain the twisting emotions of betrayal and anger.

"Nagisa," He managed to force out through gritted teeth. "What are you doing?" It was an order more than a question, he wanted the other to cease these actions as Gakushu received more than he'd ever managed to obtain.

"Following your orders." The assassin replied bluntly, continuing to pleasure the other male who'd resorted to biting his hand at the moment Karma had broken the flow of the meeting.

"Just like I follow your orders to protect your arrogant ass so you can sleep peacefully at night."

Karasuma watched in an odd sense of awe as Nagisa's words spilled in a venomous hiss. While he had played on his usual tricks of seduction to snake his coils around the room and assume control this was the first time he'd seen the younger male put such emotion into his words.

The usually calm and observant Nagisa seemingly prepared to strike Karma down in the closest thing to a temper tantrum he had ever witnessed since his adoption.

It seemed he would have something to report back after all. While it didn't so much appear like it on the outside, slowly but surely the time spent with these people were provoking very human reactions from his young assassin.

Nagisa was not about to let Karma show him off like some trophy wife.

"Geeze, just how badly have you been treating her to deserve _this_ , Karma? Maybe there's a reason your dates only last a week at the most." Rio said, carefully leaning back in her seat as if this small moment would protect her should hell rain down upon the.

"Looks like your territory might fall after all pretty boy." Ryuki sneered as he lit up another cigarette and took a log drag.

Karma felt vulnerable, his vision warping the table to feel like the others were further away and plotting his downfall. Without Nagisa as his side he felt stranded, like the storm would overcome him and drag him into the depth of failure. His heart rate quickened as anxiety threatened to take hold. He'd never experienced an attack in public and the crippling fear Nagisa would watch him fall made him wish to flee.

Gakushu's heart rate too, quickened as Nagisa worked his length through the fabric of his pants. A wet patch blooming and thankfully masked by the colour as his gut twisted in pleasurable waves as he grew closer to climax.

If Nagisa was this good clothed he couldn't imagine how good it would feel with the clothes off.

Shame crept into his face as he wanted to hide from such unsavoury thoughts.

"Nagisa." He heard himself whine before he could even think so stop it.

Being dry humped by the girl who hadn't left his thoughts since the charity event in such a public place was too much for his body to handle as he came with a strangled cry against his fist.

His pants and undergarments soaked as Nagisa continued to rub his oversensitive organ, he'd have to tend to

Tend to his own _problem_ beneath compression shorts later, that was far for arousing than it should have been.

Ignoring the room of stares at his very public performance, Nagisa looked up to meet Karma's gaze and what he saw was the human equivalent of a kicked puppy as the redhead.

From out nowhere felt an almost guilty stab to his heart. That was new.

Before he had time to ponder the feeling Karma had left his chair and was already out the door.

"Kar-chan" The assassin cursed at the slip up, what was wrong with him today.

Shooting a quick glaze toward Karasuma, his eyes asked if he did something wrong before Ryuki slapped his own thigh and spoke up.

"How much I gotta pay to get you in my lap and provide your _services_?"

"Maybe next time, okay? I need to make sure Kachan isn't doing anything stupid."

In an instant his composure returned and he resumed his role as Karma's hot girlfriend, offering the older male a sweet smile as he removed himself from Gakushu's lap and readjusted his shorts.

"That was fun, Shu-kun." He cooed sweetly before resting a hand delicately on the others still quivering shoulder and kissed him.

Rio couldn't suppress a wolf whistle, at this rate Karma would be ruined before the week was out and the scramble for Nagisa's favour would begin.

Karma followed the passage of the hallway, their meeting was held in a business complex as opposed to their more regular bar.

They had to change the location every few weeks to ensure threats couldn't pinpoint of predict their location. Assassination of the upcoming leaders again was less than ideal. The absence of power would throw the city into chaos as smaller parties and outside clans would lead the territories to ruin fighting over who got what.

Karma had to support himself against the wall as his vision went in and out of focus. Swaying as if he were on the stormy seas, it did little to dampen his nausea. He only hoped he could fend off paralysis.

Slumping against the wall he focused on his breathing exercises. In and out. Calming himself down. It wasn't so much the jealousy of Nagisa fooling about with Gakushu that set him off, but rather the feeling of being targeted, of being looked down on, the fear of being the weakest link.

Nagisa was right, he'd been taking the assassin for granted.

As he wrangled his breathing back to some form of stability, the object of his troubles appeared before him. The redhead's jacket back on and hugging his form. It really did look nice one him.

"I thought you were _my_ girlfriend." Karma frowned, forcing himself to take his eyes off the smaller male least he discover the real reason he had to leave. Those big blue eyes felt like they could see through his soul at times.

"A role you put me in yes, you never said I had to be a _faithful_ girlfriend." Nagisa scoffed while folding his arms like a teacher about to scold their student.

"That shouldn't need to be implied! If you honestly believe I think that little of you why not just tell me instead of fucking another guy?" He said a bit louder than he would have liked.

"You do think that little of me, I'm just some pretty face on legs for you and everyone else to gawk at. If you treat all your partners like this no wonder they only last a week."

"I care about them more than you would Mr. One-night-stand, least I don't kill my partner at the end of the night."

"Did you perhaps forget I am an _assassin_. You do not want to make an enemy out of me Karma," Nagisa's eyes grew dull and Karma couldn't help but feel as if something had coiled around him, sucking the air from his lungs. He shouldn't have found that sinister look so attractive.

"It could be bad for your health."

It was odd. The way he admired Nagisa even now. While it felt good to yell at each other like this, even with Nagisa publicly ruining his rival, he couldn't bring himself to hate him.

"Why are you smiling?" Nagisa hissed unimpressed with the way Karma had an unpredictable streak he couldn't quite understand.

"This is the most you've ever talked to me I'm almost afraid it'll just stop."

Nagisa blinked in confusion, perhaps Karma wasn't such a lost cause after all. Still frustrating though.

"I'm glad my father hired a human instead of a robot."

Nagisa didn't know how to react to the expression Karma presented him with.

"Why? Because you can't 'woo' a robot?"

"Because a robot wouldn't want to be my friend."

Friend was an odd concept. What most people would class as a friend Nagisa saw as more of an acquaintance.

Was Karma's definition the same as his?

He found it difficult to believe someone flirting with him desired the fundamentals of a relationship with him. Still, if he had an entire year to endure with Karma, it couldn't hurt to try.

"You want me to be your friend?"

"As much as I'd love to date you, if there's one thing I'd want out of the one bodyguard who's stuck around, it's friendship. It gets a little lonely at times when talking could mean a knife in your back the next morning."

"A knife to the back is a terrible and inefficient way assassinate someone discreetly, but I think I understand." There's was only one person in Nagisa's life of whom he could confide in the deepest of emotions and secrets, above his own boss, his mentor Irina was the only person he could trust to that degree. But she wasn't a friend, she was a mother to him.

Perhaps a friend would be nice to have too.

Nagisa looked down at the redhead and couldn't help but compare him to a scolded puppy. Much in the same way he felt the urge to ruffle Karma's hair causing the other to look up at him.

He was confused as to what the gesture meant but before he could speak his mind the assassin gently cupped his chin and placed a chaste kiss to his forehead.

"You are forgiven."

He said effort returning to his previous task of proposing a 24 hour intermission in the meeting.

Karma didn't dare follow Nagisa back to the room. He couldn't bring himself to face anyone, especially Gakushu, nor did he believe he could handle the probing questions.

He wanted to believe Nagisa would remain loyal to him and not fuck Gakushu senseless against the table for his own or Gakushu's satisfaction. Logic dictated he couldn't without exposing himself as male but in all honesty after this meeting he felt there was little benefit in pretending Nagisa was his girlfriend any more, Nagisa probably knew that too.

Karma hoped the small assassin would return to him soon, anxiety continued to claw at the back of his mind as every minute felt like five.

The room was silent as Nagisa informed the Yakuza male of what needed to be done and no one was about to argue with the man twice their age, of military background, and endlessly more dangerous than themselves. Even with their respective bodyguards in the corners of the room, no amount of protection would spare them if Karasuma saw them as targets.

Packing their gear and filing paperwork into bags, the group dispersed from the meeting room’s oval table until only two bodies remained.

Nagisa watched with curious eye as Gakushu met him before the door. Shifting awkwardly, Nagisa couldn't quite tell if he was nervous or still managing the earlier wetness now dried in his pants.

"Forgive me for being forward, but would you go out with me?" Came the quick, nervous question as Gakushu stared at the ground, a red tint coloured his cheeks and ears. It was interesting to see the usually pokerface male crumble like this and it wasn't even intentional this time.

He had to be careful about this, he wasn't answering Gakushu like he had with Karma.

Taking a moment to organize his thoughts, Nagisa took a quiet, deep breath, before offering the blonde a sweet smile and his cutest voice.

"I'm flattered, Shu-kun, but I must decline your offer."

He waited for the other to raise his head with a dejected look as Nagisa explained.

"You're really sweet and I enjoy hanging out with you. But I don't date while under contract."

It took a moment for the words to sink in and naturally the blonde male latched on to the realisation of the last part. So they weren't dating.

"Would you maybe, if it doesn't work out with Karma, maybe keep me in mind?" It was embarrassing to hear the words fall from his mouth not such an unsure and unprofessional fashion but what could he do, he was smitten with the assassin since the event.

Nagisa offered him a small nod before closing the distance between them, pushing up on tip toe to whisper in Gakushu's ear.

"By the way, I'm a guy."

And with a small peck to his temple Nagisa stepped back to admire the results, the way a tomato red Gakushu's mind wrapped around the idea, looking him top to toe in confusion, then realisation. There must have been the odd dirty thought too as the next moment his nose began to bleed.

Failing to catch a drop before his stained his white shirt, Gakushu became a stuttering mess of apologies for being so indecent and thinking of such a lewd thing Nagisa almost wished he would voice. He found a great deal of satisfaction in shattering the table's leader's composure so easily.

Kindly bidding farewell and allowing Gakushu the time to regain his composure and question his sexuality, Nagisa left to return to Karma who, surprisingly, hadn't moved from his spot in the hall awaiting his return.

Karma didn't ask why Nagisa was second to last out of the room but he could tell was something was wrong.

"You okay?"

"Uncomfortable." Nagisa admitted shifting in place. "Compression shorts and boners don't mix." He could really go for some casual sex right about now and despite his self imposed rule not to fuck his client, he wasn't particularly fond of the idea of chatting someone up at the bar.

"Terasaka should be waiting outside, there's a bathroom just down the hall or you could wait till we get home."

Karma on the other hand, seemed adamant on sticking to Nagisa's 'rule.' He'd only 'unlocked' kisses even if it was a case of waiting for Nagisa to initiate which admittedly was very few and far between.

"You're not going to come with me?" Nagisa cooed with a slight hint of playfulness. Closing the distance until their breaths began to mingle.

This may have been the only chance for sex without Karma thinking he may have won the assassin over and he was blatantly ignoring the chance.

"You don't need to pretend to be a girl, I doubt you want me to go with you." Karma replied feigning ignorance. It was obvious from the way Nagisa leaned forward to show off his false breasts and trailed a hand seductively down the contours of his toned exposed body before dripping just a few fingers below his waistband.

As much as the idea of taking the assassin against a stall wall aroused his nether region, he wanted sex to actually mean something to Nagisa instead of a means to a quick fix. He just hoped he wouldn't regret that decision later.

Instantly Nagisa's fingers receded, cursing under breath at the way the small seductive gesture instinctively made him harder.

Sighing he guessed it was for the best to wait until he could clean up properly and avoid the same situation as Gakushu if Karma decided halfway home to grab take ways or visit the game store.

"I'll wait until we get home."

*  *  *

Karma woke at his usual time for a day in which he didn't have to study, work, or visit the family. It was probably too late but he didn't particularly care, it was his day to do what he wanted and he damn well was going to do that.

Still, he was getting hungry. Nagisa was probably already up, he was always up before him, so there would likely be food. So with that in mind he shuffled out of bed and wrapped a blanket around his shoulder like a cape and made the short trek downstairs.

Peeking into the downstairs bathroom he noticed the shower wasn't dripping in its usual fashion. Even if Nagisa had gotten up at 6 the shower he would still be dripping, the downstairs plumbing was still a little shoddy mostly because he didn’t care to fix it. It was the one the guests used so it’s not like it bothered him in any way, but now that Nagisa was living in the same household, he figured it should be higher on the priority list than it currently was.

Continuing down the hallway Karma opened the door into the open plan kitchen-lounge arrangement, staring in disbelief at the gentle rise and fall of blue hair still sleeping on the sofa bed.

This was not normal and he was more than a little curious.

Carefully he tip toed across the grey speckled carpet to get a closer look. Karma rarely got to see the other sleeping and he soon found all thoughts of food vanish as his attention focused solely on Nagisa. He felt like a child about to steal from a cookie jar, except that the cookie jar was just as likely to sit there as it was to draw a knife. It was thrilling and terrifying.

Edging quietly around the coffee table to get a better look, Nagisa's features were significantly different from when he was awake. Softer, as though he was a normal kid instead of an assassin seductress working for the Yakuza.

Reaching a hand out to carefully toy with the ends of his long blue strands of hair, Karma contemplate the benefits of climbing on top of the other for a photo. Nagisa wouldn’t need to know. It’d just be another in the small collection he had on his phone the other was more than aware of.

Checking to see if he'd actually brought the device with him he decided it was worth a shot. If nothing it would prove valuable bragging rights towards the other family heads as well as a new screensaver, the dress was cute, but this sleeping face was cuter.

Shedding the thick blanket in a heap before carefully easing his way onto the bed, Karma was mindful of the sink as his knee dug into the firm mattress, watching Nagisa's expression intently as he awkwardly swung the other leg over to straddle him. He waited a few moments to ensure the other hadn't woken up, the steady rise and fall of his chest told Karma he was in the clear. He reached for his phone and leaned in.

The blanket Nagisa had draped over him slipped a fraction from the small motion. On unconscious instinct his hand had moved a fraction to pull it back up at his fingertips had brushed a fabric that wasn't that of the couch.

That was all he needed to go from a comfortable doze to full alertness.

The hand that had been tucked under his pillow sweeps up sharply and the barrel of the gun jams painfully into the tender flesh of the lower jaw as he opens his hazy eyes.

Panic was quick to set in and Karma made an audible squeak as the sting of metal connected with his jaw. His body frozen in place but his mouth was running a marathon.

"Nagisa! Don't shoot please it's me!"

He could barely hear himself over the rapid pace of his heart. This would be a truly regrettable way to go. He didn't even get a photo to claim the death would be, in some way shape or form, 'totally worth it'.

Nagisa blinks to clear the last of the haze from his eyes.

He hadn't been dreaming, just relaxing in the leaden state of one who could tell it was time to awaken but didn't have the energy to do so. His training meant his body had moved before his mind could catch up and it took a while for him to mentally catalogue his surroundings; room, couch, gun, _Karma_.

Well he was awake now, no matter how much the softness of the pillow around his ears tempted him to just close his eyes and fall back asleep. It feels like his brain had been scooped out and filled with damp cotton wool.

He sneezes and the gun shakes.

Karma makes a noise. He was hyperaware Nagisa's finger had grazed the trigger. If he didn't have a gun to such a vulnerable spot he might have even verbalized how cute the other just sounded, but right now he was more concerned as to whether he'd get off the mattress alive.

His back was starting to ache from his hunched position, but he really didn’t want to tempt fate more than he already had just because his back was sore.

"Be careful with that. I wasn’t going to do anything." He tried to reason as if he was an innocent civilian caught up in this wild mess, which he was anything but.

"Safety's on. 'm not an idiot." Nagisa sighs and lowers the weapon. "Keep a loaded gun under my pillow with the safety off and I'll have a hole in my head."

He tucks the weapon back away and tries to prop himself up on his elbows. As soon as his head is more than a few inches off the pillow though he feels like it has been replaced with a bowling ball.

He thumps backwards onto the pillow.

It takes a moment to register that the gun is pulled away, longer to realise Nagisa isn't scolding him per usual when he does something foolish. It finally clicks when he notices the other's uneven breathing that something is wrong.

"Nagisa?" He questions, concern tugging at his voice. "Are you okay?"

"Tired." Nagisa yawns in response.

His voice isn't like it should be, thick with phlegm clogging up his throat. He coughs not once but harder than he would have to make a point. His fumbling fingers reach across the coffee table for a box of tissues and he pulls one out to cover his mouth.

Karma's hand shifted from Nagisa's shoulder to forehead, he was incredibly hot. 

"You're sick?" The words felt foreign on his tongue. In the time he'd spent with the other he'd never dropped his guard, never looked so vulnerable. At least not intentionally.

He'd gotten used to Nagisa being around, although the number of attempts seemed to have all but vanished, he found himself disliking the idea of not having his bodyguard. When did he become so dependant? Time to cancel his plans for the day and look after Nagisa. Not that he had any plans to begin with.

"I'm fine..." Nagisa murmurs. "I just stayed up too late last night."

He coughs again and coughs up a glob of phlegm into the tissue.

"Don't think this means you can run off!" He scolds with a voice that croaks like a frog. "I'm on you like a hawk!"

He tries to get up again despite the pain in his head from doing so. The blanket starts to slip to the floor as he tries to stand on quivering legs.

Karma watches the rather pathetic display with a mix of amusement and concern.

"You're not fine." On you like a hawk? He couldn’t help but laugh at how dumb that sounded with that messed up voice.

"Come back to bed, you look terrible." He reasons, sliding to the edge of the mattress and reaching up to grab the other by the waist and forcefully drag him back down onto the bed.

Nagisa grumbles incoherently but goes back down. He wants to try and fight against Karma, just to prove he's fine but he isn't fine. But he can barely move his arms. Some bodyguard he'd be in this state.

He needed to make sure Karma didn't go out by himself where he would be in danger. If it had been a fractured limb or any other kind of wound he had to recover from Nagisa could try seducing him but seeing how he was evidently becoming a fountain of snot he'd have to rely on pity instead.

Nagisa did not like relying on pity.

"Can you get me a lemon ginger tea?" He asks weakly.

Karma's smile was genuine as the other willingly gave in and returned to the warmth.

"In a sec." He said sliding off the bed and tossing the sheets back over Nagisa, tucking him in slightly in a gesture that could be considered almost motherly. While he made a habit of relentlessly teasing his friends and minions, he did actually care about their wellbeing for reasons other than they're no use to him ill or the reactions weren't as fun. He just had a difficult time showing it.

Picking up the blanket from earlier and swinging that over the other as well. While his forehead had been hot, Karma could see the goose bumps that dotted the rest of his body. If he hadn't been so obviously sick, Karma would have thought he actually looked pretty cute. The red face, the light panting, the blue hair fanning across the pillows, and that vulnerable look on his face. Under different circumstances Karma would have liked that a lot.

Catching himself before he continued that train of thought he returned to the task of Nagisa's drink. Walking the short distance to the kitchen to prepare it.

"So even mighty assassins fall prey to the common cold." Karma declared with a teasing bellow.

"What were you even doing last night? Did you abandon me for a midnight walk? What if I had gotten killed~!" He continued fully aware the other likely wanted him to shut up, but it was a force of habit, he wasn't about to let this opportunity be wasted.

Nagisa simply curls up in the blankets, pulling them closer around him in a cocoon of warmth. He feels too warm all over but he is sweating cold and it makes his skin crawl.

"'was busy." Nagisa replies.

His voice is hoarse as if he had been screaming in the night and talking felt disgusting. Though there isn't much chance of it he hopes Karma recognizes he doesn't feel like talking and lets it go.

Karma smirked at the blunt answer but took pity. He didn't _really_ want to make Nagisa worse. Though he couldn’t help but silently curse. If he was still hell-bent on getting rid of his bodyguard this would be a golden opportunity. Too bad he’d been slapped in the face with the biggest dose of gay for Nagisa.

Making himself a hot chocolate while he was still in the kitchen, he took the two mugs back to the ring of couches held out the lemon ginger tea. He could have spiked the drink, maybe put a lump of ginger at the bottom, there was so many openings to make Nagisa want to leave and he was letting each and every one of them slip by.

He wondered how long this yearning for Nagisa's attention would be a one sided affair, sure he'd worked his way into Nagisa’s rule allowing for kisses, but without proper contact like hugging the victory felt like a hollow one.

"Need anything else? We don't have much lemon left, if you want another I’ll have to go get some."

Nagisa quickly shakes his head and immediately regrets it as a pang of pain runs through him. He can't have Karma leaving on his own with no protection, especially for something as stupid as a lemon.

He reaches for the cup of tea and manages to grab it by the handle but it is hot and he has to carefully lower it back onto the table. Shuffling the blankets around himself he tries to prop himself up on the pillow so he can pick up his tea without spilling it over himself. He coughs again and covers his mouth with his hands.

If Karma didn’t know any better he'd say this wasn't the real Nagisa. This one was so weak and frail compared to the one that practically hounded him making sure he didn't get into mischief and made it to meetings on time.

He reclined in the couch next to Nagisa and whipped out his phone as he took a sip from his own drink. Holding it up to take a quick snap of Nagisa before opening up messenger.

Nagisa struggles to hold himself upright, his head feels like it's going to snap back on his neck and fall off if he doesn't have something to lean it against. He has to hold the mug in both hands as he lifts it to make sure he doesn't spill it all down his front.

Even swallowing is hard, his sore throat makes the movement painful so he takes slow deliberate gulps. Karma thankfully hadn't spiked it with anything, though the taste would have been improved with a bit of honey.

It was important to keep his fluids up and the ginger was good for decongestion, or so Bitch-sensei had insisted. The warm tea makes him feel a bit warmer inside.

Even though it still hurt he forced himself to sit fully upright.

Meanwhile Karma continued to type, messaging first his father to let him know Nagisa's situation and if there was anything he could suggest, and then to Rio who was affectionately dubbed 'kickass informer' on his contacts list, asking if there had been any sort of commotion in his area the night prior. The redhead wanted to know what Nagisa had done to end up so ill, and he knew the other wasn’t about to talk even if he wanted to.

As the characteristic notification tone sounded once from his father then thrice for Rio he hoped there would be at least something to go off.

He didn't much like being kept at home but he didn't exactly want to leave the other's side while he was like this, even if it was to another room, in case the other tried to do something dumb like get another drink. Which was likely a poor choice given the air was still a little on the icy side despite rounding 11am and he was still only wearing his boxer shorts.

Nagisa drains his drink to the bitter dregs. It rests warm as a kitten against his stomach. Leaning back against the edge of the couch he sighs.

His head feels hazy. If he forced himself to he could move, in other circumstances he would endure this small weakness and continue his work. However at this time it seems safer to relax and hope Karma doesn't try something it takes too much effort to stop.

"I need to shower and get dressed." He tells him and looking up from his phone the redhead smirked.

"Need some help with that~? Last time you tried to stand your body trembled like a leaf in a hurricane. You won't make it five steps without falling over." He teased.

"Yes, if you don't mind." Nagisa says bluntly as he tries to keep himself balanced.

He concentrates hard on putting one foot in front of the other and turns in the direction of the shower. Karma hadn’t expected the other to actually accept his offer. Still he felt his legs moving before his brain caught up, ignoring the flashing notification from Rio as he climbed over the table to support Nagisa’s weight.

Nagisa tries not to lean all his weight on Karma as they walk. He was heavier than he looked and it would be unfair to him but he can't help but let his head loll back against Karma's shoulder. It ached less when he wasn't trying to support it. Karma was once again reminded just how much of Nagisa was muscle, shamelessly giving a quick squeeze just to get a better feel for those muscles. He wanted to bed his bodyguard so badly.

Carefully he helped Nagisa cover the relatively short distance to the hallway and shower, stopping only momentarily before a thought came to mind.

"You sure you're going to be okay to shower? I do have a bath upstairs."

"If you run a bath I'm going to fall asleep again." Nagisa half-jokes.

 "As opposed to slipping and falling in the shower." He retorted before sheepishly adding, "I actually ran a bath earlier, I was waiting for it to cool down when I came downstairs. It’s probably still warm."

This would require them to make the hike upstairs but Karma couldn’t find it in himself to be bothered by this. Even though Nagisa was off his game, this was the closest he'd managed to get to the other since their tango at the charity event a month or so earlier.

The assassin pauses with a small sigh.

"Fine but one condition." He looks up at Karma and smiles weakly. "You've got to stay and make sure I don't nod off."

Karma's heart threatened to stop at that moment.

"Sure."Came the distorted voice as he adjusted his grip to help ease them both up the stairs one step at a time. Thankfully there were technically two lots of stairs so the corner allowed for Nagisa to regain his breath and steady himself before climbing the rest of the way.

Karma was right, the bath was still where he left it and still steaming to confirm the water was still warm. He'd turned only the hot tap on before tossing in some strawberry scented bubble mix before going down. Silently thanking whoever invented taps that turned off once the water reached a certain level else he would have had a flooded ensuite by now.

Nagisa sighs again as they enter the significantly warmer bathroom. The rising steam that fogged over any glass cleared out his sinuses enough for him to start breathing through his nose again.

It seemed like forever since he'd had a nice, hot bath...

"Are you sure you don't mind?" He asks shyly. It seems a waste for him to just take Karma's bath for himself. Karma to help him steady himself as he slips off his boxers.

"Nagisa I've been trying to get you to stay indefinitely for the past three months." He said honestly, taking the other's hand and eyeing the tattoos he wanted to know so much more about.

Taking the lead he sat the other down on the side of the tub before tugging the loose singlet over his head and tossing it to the ground along with his boxers.

"It's fine." Karma added, smiling. It was odd to have the other rely on him but it was nice.

"Shampoo and conditioner are over by the tap." He said gesturing to the adjacent wall before breaking into a short laugh.  "Unless you have some super special assassin’s shampoo you want from downstairs."

Nagisa tosses his hair impishly in his best impression of Bitch-sensei.

"How else do you think my hair gets so shiny~?" He half-purrs though his cold means the noise has more than a hint of lawnmower that undermines the sexiness somewhat.

He dips a toe into the water. It’s almost scalding hot, just the way he likes it. Nagisa can't help but wonder if Karma has planned this as he sinks into the clean berry-scented foam. An entirely audible sigh leaves his mouth as he settles down with the hot soapy water supporting his body.

He beckons Karma with one crooked finger as Karma. He wasted no time in shedding his own red boxers as he slipped into the bath also.

It was still a bit too hot for his liking, and it took a moment longer to actually get used to the warmth before eventually managing to enjoy the feeling against his skin. Treading slightly to grab his shampoo and move it closer. Malin + Goetz Peppermint Shampoo. Because nothing was better than the smell of fresh peppermint and the tingling sensation it left on the scalp.

Nagisa leans back with his eyes closed, his breathing slowly steadying as he floats free. With care he inches into the water until his hair floats free around his ears.

Karma pays particular attention to the rise and fall of Nagisa's chest beneath the water’s surface. Thankfully the bubbles had dissipated somewhat from their movements making the observation easier. Quickly pouring some shampoo into the palm of his hand, Karma washed the oil and grit from sleeping out of his hair.

After a moment of trying to justify his actions and steel himself, gestures without emotion backing them were so much easier to deal with than legitimate feelings; the redhead dunked his head under the hot bathwater to wash out the foam, wiping the excess water from his eyes, before slowly closing the distance between himself and Nagisa.

Nagisa relaxes entirely. When he was in the hot water with his eyes closed he felt at peace and it made his senses sharper. He could feel Karma's nervousness, which is why he never would have normally let them bathe together. For him a bath was something akin to a meditation and having to monitor his surroundings for a potential threat detracted from the peace the water bought.

Still he can tell that his client is merely nervous as he approaches with very slow, obvious gestures as Karma maneuvered the other to sit in front of him. Nagisa lays flat in the water, giving Karma time to move and orientate himself. When Karma touches him, Nagisa moves with him to make the motion easier, opening his eyes a sliver as he does so, so that the redhead can see he hasn't fallen asleep.

When the other hadn't pulled away Karma finally allowed himself to relax a bit. It was no secret the incident not even an hour or so ago with Nagisa's gun has shaken him. But as the blue haired boy continued to laze in the water he became bolder.

Reaching back to grab his shampoo once more, pouring a generous amount into his hand, Nagisa’s hair was significantly longer than his, replacing the bottle before tentatively reaching forward to massage the foam into his hair. He hummed to himself taking note of not only how soft Nagisa's hair was, but how much thicker it was too.

Nagisa relaxes against Karma's shoulder as Karma's fingers run through his hair. Usually he would insist on doing this himself, he didn't like others touching his hair, but Karma's fingers were gentle as they slowly massaged his scalp. In combination with the warm water and the tender touch, Nagisa felt like he really could fall asleep like this.

Karma was glad in that moment for the random trivial knowledge his parents, particularly his mother, would bring back from their business trips and teach him. The basics of massaging had been one of them, and through his own curiosity he'd developed it into his own style.

It was soothing for himself as well, gentling kneading the other's scalp as Nagisa sat slumped in his lap, running fingers through the long strands, rubbing them between his fingers and into the water before bringing them back up to repeat the gesture over and over until he deemed the other's hair sufficiently clean.

With the remaining bubbles Karma trailed his fingers down to Nagisa's neck and shoulders, paying particular attention to the vibrantly coloured patterns of blended blues, pinks and subtle yellows adorning his left side. Nagisa's pale skin seems to shine with the thin film of water, emphasizing the darkness of the inked lines against the pink flush bought on by the hot water.

The assassin feels the way Karma's fingers glide along the markings with a rapt fascination and shifts slightly to face him.

"Admiring my tattoos?" He asks his client with his eyes still closed.

Karma's hands stilled for a moment in panic, before carefully returning to trace the pattern over again, his heart rate had quickened considerably, was Nagisa doing to get mad at him?

"They are pretty." Karma admitted, swallowing the lump in his throat.

"I've been wondering what they mean, your file said nothing and Rio could only dig up that they represent your first kill." He chuckled a little nervously.

There was a relatively decent about of information, all things considered, about the Yakuza everyone knew about, but the smaller things people just seemed to accept without really questioning why it was there. Like the tattoos.

Tracing the outline of the three sakura petals visible, the redhead wondered just how many coloured his body. He'd never had the opportunity to properly look at it without the other threatening him. In all fairness it was usually his fault for throwing the boy into a skirt or spying on his in the shower.

"It's a mark of graduation as an assassin." Nagisa tells him and rolls over into the water fully so Karma can better see the extent they trail down the body.

"Life is precious. Every life cut short must be honoured in its own way. After our first kill we get the tattoo to show we haven't forgotten that. Death after death they pile up... but as their killers we must remember them."

Karma's gaze travelled over the expanse of the tattoo. It was significantly larger and more detailed than he remembered from the steam hazed glance he had. The serpent head that peeked over his shoulder and arm hung in a loose figure-8 around two cracked skulls. The snake itself bled from several nicks and there were even more sakura petals that followed the waves of cloud that trailed down past his ass to about midthigh.

With one hand he made sure to the other above the water as his other mapped the curve and lines of the serpent. He hummed in thought taking in the information. It was fascinating and it seemed as if Nagisa may want to indulge his curiosity.

"And what's your story, Nagisa? What do your markings represent?"

Nagisa reaches out and lightly takes Karma's hand in his own, tracing Karma's fingertips over the markings.

"The Sakura for spring..." He draws Karma's fingers over the tattooed petals. "The snake for the Serpent Strike technique."

He pulls Karma's fingers down.

"The knife for the weapon I used."

He pulls Karma's fingers to the skulls.

"The skulls are my first victims."

He drags Karma's fingers down the skulls in time to his words.

"The first was my primary target. I caught him by surprise and snick.” He mimics the sound of the knife slicing, though the sound he makes with his tongue is nothing compared to the way the sound went in his memory.

"The second was the bodyguard. I let my guard down and let my bloodlust seep out." He drags Karma's fingers down the bleeding scales of the snake.

"I killed him too."

He drags Karma's fingers down the clouds that trailed down his back and continued on past his reach to a point under the bubbles.

"And disappeared like a wisp of smoke."

Karma was a mix of horror, fascination, and shamefully, arousal. Nagisa had trailed his hand right down to the curve of his ass. It felt even better than it looked. He silently hoped by some miracle Nagisa didn't notice or if it was intentional, how he should even react. He swallowed choosing instead to focus on Nagisa’s story rather than the soft bountiful ass in the palm of his hand.

"How old were you?" Karma continued.

"I was fourteen years old. I lied about my age to get close to them. I didn't let them touch me though." Nagisa says to reassure him seeing the flash of concern across the other’s face, how cute Karma worried about his wellbeing like this.

He tilts his head to the side a smirked slyly.

"Your face is getting pretty red, maybe we should get out of the bath?"

Karma was torn between yanking his hand away and leaving it there at the other's comment. If he pulled away it would be painfully obvious the reason his face was red, in honesty however he suspected Nagisa knew full well why and was simply teasing him.

Fourteen though? Karma somehow couldn’t believe that was the first time the blue haired boy had made a kill. There was still so much he didn't know, though there was comfort in the fact there was still over half a year to try and find out.

"If you want to get out that's fine." Karma cursed himself for stumbling slightly over his words.

"We didn’t bring any clothes with us though. Unless you're just going to go back to bed."

"Help me out?" Nagisa asks with a small innocent smile and offers a sudsy hand for Karma to take.

“We can always go downstairs and get them right?"

He coughs lightly.

"Though spending the day in bed doesn't sound too bad..."

Karma seizes the moment to promptly remove his hand from Nagisa's rear, taking the outstretched hand and pulling them over to the side of the tub closest to the sink and towel to avoid prolonged exposure and dripping all over their sleeping clothes.

"You're ill so take the day to rest, watch a movie or something."

He said outstretching a hand to pull Nagisa out of the bath, when he was sure he wouldn't collapse, he did a quick once over of himself with the large towel before swinging it around the smaller boy and began drying him off too.

"I'll make you some soup once you're settled."

Nagisa bends his body to let Karma pat him dry from head to toe. His skin is still wonderfully pink from the hot water blushing the colour of sakura petals. The alabaster white scales of the snake, usually blending in with his naturally pale skin tone, stood out against this backdrop of flushed skin.

He would cool down soon enough and the colour would fade but he still curls his fingers down the stark markings along his side. The hot water has made his skin nice and soft. The towel Karma has picked out it nice and soft too, fluffy and warmed by the heated towel rail to protect him against the bite of cold air.

Karma continues to pat down his hair with care not to give Nagisa's head more of an aching but Nagisa can tell it's going to go frizzy. Oh well, they wouldn't be going out today so he wouldn't need to slick it back with product to make it shiny and smooth again. On instinct he reaches for a hair tie before he remembers this is Karma's bathroom not his. Loose hair it is then.

"I want my clothes." He tells Karma as he leans against him again for support.

Karma honestly feels like he's about to die with how clingy and lenient Nagisa was when he was ill. Surely this was simply another test right?

Taking a step towards the pile of discarded clothes on the floor he almost trip over Nagisa who took a step towards the door. Straight downstairs then.

Keeping the towel wrapped firmly around the other, the duo made the trek back downstairs. Nagisa kept majority of his stuff in the hot water cupboard just past the bathroom.

Opening it with one hand and supporting Nagisa with the other, Karma dug through the to the other's clothes, pulling out the most comfortable looking garments caring little as to whether they matched or not. No one was going to see him anyway.

Nagisa gratefully took the clothing, though he made a face at some of Karma's fashion choices. The idea of wearing that shirt with those pants makes him feel sick in itself. He picks the least offense combination of all of the garments Karma is offering and slips them on. The fleece is soft against his skin. For mid-spring it was remarkably cold today.

Karma had bought all his clothes for him out of the money the Akabane Family paid in expenses. It suited his disguise best to have outfits that were within his client's tastes, even if they were just a fleece hoodie and track pants. He pulls both on with nothing else underneath. His head was still ringing like a struck gong. He definitely wasn't going to be leaving the house today.

"Karma... your clothes." He points out and Karma felt a faint tinge of embarrassment wash over his face.

"I'll grab them in a moment" He whispered, he never got so embarrassed around the folk he messed around with at the bar and strip club, Nagisa was bad for his health. In honesty he was ready to awkwardly sneak back upstairs to retrieve at least his boxers but he didn't want to leave Nagisa in the hallway.

Quickly stuffing the unused clothes back into the cupboard Karma rest a hand on Nagisa’s back and promptly swinging his other under Nagisa’s legs and hoisting him up bridal style.

Ignoring the startled squeak from Nagisa he crossed the lounge and carefully eased him back into the tangled mess of blankets before dashing back upstairs to put on some clothes but not before tossing Nagisa the remote in case he felt up to watching something.

The assassin catches the remote with ease showing that sickness hasn't made him completely helpless. He watches Karma's rear as he runs upstairs and bites a fingernail.

Nagisa burrowed into the blankets, drawing them tight around himself in a cocoon of warmth. With his fluffy clothes and the three blankets he props himself up with the pillows so he can look around the room without too much strain.

Now he just had to devise a way to get Karma to stay downstairs with him instead of work where he might get wind of something he had done last night and rush out of the house without him.

Thankfully Karma returns soon after and Nagisa shuffles over, pulling back the blankets a bit and patting the sofa bed beside him.

"Come sit down." The blue-haired assassin invites him closer. "We can watch a movie together."

The invitation was harmless enough but Karma wouldn’t help the voice screaming in his head that he had to be on his guard, that Nagisa was luring him in, slowly but surely entangling him in his coils, yet at the same time he felt there was nothing he could do about it.

"Okay." was the only thing Karma could choke out.

 Nagisa hadn't held the blanket open very wide so they were practically plastered against each other. This hadn’t been so nerve-wracking in the bath, he was sure Nagisa could hear, _feel_ how hard his heart was pounding.

He reached for his phone, maybe someone needed him at work, his heart couldn't handle this.

"What do you want to watch?" Nagisa asks him as he leans against Karma's shoulder.

Usually this much physical contact in the space of an hour meant he'd need a crowbar to pry Karma off but he was acting so jumpy. Threatening him with a gun probably wasn't the best way to get him to relax.

Nagisa reaches out and pushes Karma's phone back down.

"Do you not want to spend time with me?" He asks blue eyes wide and voice hoarse from his sickness and Karma was conflicted.

On one hand, he'd been trying for months to get Nagisa to willingly let him be this close for a prolonged period of time, but on the other hand, now that it was actually here, the redhead was kind of terrified.

He barely caught a glimpse of the screen before Nagisa had stopped him. He felt that snake coil tighter around him. It was a little hard to breathe. Was this part of that Snake Strike technique the other had mentioned in the bath?

Karma stared into those blue eyes, trying to get some sort of read from them, something that would reassure him that Nagisa wasn't planning anything that would hurt him. Not that it should, that would defeat the purpose of his contract, but he couldn’t help but search. Even if there had been ill intent, the other probably hid it from him and Karma decided to fool himself into believing that absence of bloodlust was genuine.

He relaxed a little letting himself lean.

"I do want to. I kinda wanna watch Thirteen Ghosts.” He breathed adding a small apology tagged to the end.

"Sure." Nagisa replies and snuggles up against Karma's shoulder, curling his arm around the arm that held Karma’s phone. He rests his palm lightly against the phone itself so he can see if Karma is trying to switch it over to his other hand without him noticing.

"Just no work now. I want you to stay here where I can look after you." Nagisa ends the sentence with a cute yawn.

Karma cannot help but genuinely laugh at that.

“ _You_ looking after _me_?” He questions with his usual smug expression.

"Says the one who could barely walk, I should be the one looking after _you_." He punctuates at the end by poking his tongue out. Still, he grabs the remote from Nagisa's hand, hitting a couple of buttons to signal the TV Terasaka's group had insisted on installing in his lounge for 'meeting purposes' which was literally just to have a bigger screen for them to sit around on the couches and watch movies and sport as he occasionally came down to watch with them, usually with DS in hand in case the social environment was too much for him. People made him tired.

The TV pulled out on its hinges on the wall flicking to life. A few more buttons down the menus, Karma shifted to the flash drive that had about half their movies saved, selecting the correct movie and hitting play.

Thirteen Ghosts was a mix of supernatural and horror, one he hadn’t watched in a while but remembered enjoying it when Terasaka had come over. Though he couldn't quite remember why...

Nagisa makes a small incoherent dismissive sound as he snuggles closer to Karma, appearing to be on the brink of falling asleep. He times his movement with a deft flick of the wrist to slip the phone out of Karma's hand and into his own.

He wasn't fond of horror movies; they tended to be ridiculously fake or disturbingly accurate.

As the movie started it dawned on him he didn’t really remember what happened in the movie. He vaguely remembered giving Terasaka shit for how scared he had gotten. As the first on screen slaughters began to happen at the hands of a supernatural angry ghost in a junkyard, Karma instinctively gripped a little tighter to Nagisa as a man is folded in on himself, dragged into a car and torn to shreds, sufficiently foiling his attempt to slip an arm around the other's waist. Perhaps this was a bad idea.

Nagisa couldn't help but stiffen at the sight of the ghost appearing on-screen. Gore he could handle in bucketfuls, it inevitably passed from looking false to looking humorous. It was why Western Horror always managed to inspire laughter rather than screams from him.

Or at least it did usually.

These ghosts didn't inspire the subtle creeping horror of wrongness that Japanese horror did but Nagisa clung to his client anyway. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck start to rise.

Blood and death held no fears for Nagisa but the suggestion that the dead could rise from the grave to seek revenge on the living... That chilled his soul.

Despite the fact they were very obviously clinging to each other, Karma didn't want to admit in front of the other that the gore was actually creeping him out a bit. The ghosts? That was fine, he found himself a little fascinated in the lore and how it tied in, but some of the deaths were just a bit too much for him to handle.

Still he got through the movie, finding himself significantly closer to Nagisa than at the beginning. He opted not to talk about the movie ever again. Wrapping his arms a little tighter to Nagisa in a gesture probably closer to 'protect me from this shit' than affection like he would have preferred. It was almost 2pm now, and neither of them had eaten yet.

"Are you hungry?" He had to force his voice not to tremble as the credits continued to play.

"Y-Yeah." Nagisa says quietly but still clings to Karma when he tries to move. He has to pause to uncurl Nagisa’s fingers one by one and steady his breathing.

"Chicken soup?" The smaller male asks.

Karma nods before letting out a mildly sarcastic sigh to try and lighten the mood "And I'll leave the spices out for Mr. weak-taste-buds."

Once freed he slid out from under the blankets, destination the kitchen.

The air outside the blanket nest was much cooler than he had expected even though the sun broke through the clouds on occasion, there was no denying it was getting darker. Perhaps there would be rain. Karma loved the rain, the patter of raindrops on the roof while snuggling comfortably in warm blankets as the sound lulled him to sleep.

Entering the kitchen Karma debated for a moment whether to just chuck in packet soup or actually bother to make it himself. Glancing over to the spot Nagisa sat still curled up in the blankets and with a small resigned sigh, smiled briefly before getting out the ingredients to make it himself.

Patting his back pocket to check the time he noticed the device was missing. Perhaps it fell out in the bed? Not that it was much of a bother at this point, if someone needed him they'd call him, and the time could be checked on the oven.

"Why would you put chilli powder in chicken soup?" Nagisa mutters under his breath, not caring if Karma could hear him or not. He hugs the pillows close, trying not to close his eyes for too long for the scenes from his past that keep flickering in the forefront of his memory. In the warmth of his blankets on such a grey day he could feel the desire to sleep fighting with the feeling that he wasn't safe.

All of sudden there is a buzzing between his legs as someone tries calling Karma. He bites his lip to stifle the yelp that tries to break from his lips. He figured slipping the phone between his legs would prevent Karma from accidentally finding it and stifle the ringtone if someone called but by the jiggling of his junk Karma had decided to set it to vibrate. Quickly he squeezes his thighs tightly together to try and stifle the noise it makes.

Meanwhile Karma was well and truly into making the meal. Having just stirred in the hot stock and added a variety of mushrooms, courgettes, carrots, creamed corn, diced chicken and just a pinch of mixed herbs; he'd brought the mixture to the boil and was just turning it down to simmer when he looked up to find the other trembling slightly and his face reddening.

Karma wondered if the fever was returning or getting worse and promptly washed his hands before rounding the bench back to crouch slightly in front of the other. Resting the back of his hand on Nagisa's forehead he was indeed heating up. Removing his hand to touch his shoulder to find it was also warm. His whole body was heating up. Karma looked down at the other with concern, reaching for the blankets to pull them away.

"Nagisa, your fever is returning. You should remove some of these blankets."

"Ah!" Nagisa snaps his head up, his cheeks bright red.

"I'll be fine m-maybe just one blanket?" He carefully peels off one layer, keeping the rest bunched close against his body. If Karma sees the faint bulge between his legs he is going to die of embarrassment.

Karma watched him with a critical eye, Nagisa's temperature was spiking rapidly. He leaned forward over Nagisa holding his hand against Nagisa's face. His hands were cold from the water but warmed quickly against the other's hot skin.

"No you need to cool down first." Karma concluded as he reached around to unwrap one more layer from the other, he reached forward to tug it off too when the timer in the kitchen went off.

Nagisa was quick to bunch the fabric around himself as Karma reluctantly he let go and returned to the kitchen to finish their meal. Shoving the still vibrating phone between the couch cushions and pinching and rubbing at the skin on his forearm to try and get his budding erection to die down.

Had it really been so long since his last intimate act that his senses were heightened so much? Surely it was just because he was ill. It wasn’t like he was addicted to such acts. It was merely a tool without emotion to get a job done. Even if it had been four months...

The phone continues to vibrate and he silently curses it and pulls the blanket around him. He tries to roll over to keep the phone hidden from Karma's sight but just ends up with the vibrating cushion against his rear instead.

Thankfully whoever it was stops calling soon enough.

Karma meanwhile remained oblivious simply stirred cream into the soup mix, cracking a little salt and pepper in it too before abandoning the mix temporarily to retrieve bowls from the cupboards. Carefully pouring in equal amounts, the redhead set aside the bowls to cool while he proceeded to store the remaining mix and quickly clean the dishes.

Once that was complete and he was again satisfied with the cleanliness of the kitchen, to the point it looked as if he'd never cooked in the first place, he picked up the bowls and returned to his spot next to Nagisa setting them carefully on the table.

Nagisa carefully crosses his legs to make it clear the bulge is his knee rather than what it actually was.

"I didn't know you cooked." Nagisa points out. "All those mornings making you breakfast when you can make your own toast." He smiles, letting Karma know he's just teasing before he scoops up a spoonful of the creamy chicken soup and slurps it down.

"It's good."

Karma feels the blush spread across his cheeks, while it was true he could cook, and actually very well might he add, it wasn't something he did very often. Cooking was something he turned to when he was down, using his favourite knife to skilfully cut up food and spices, a knife that Nagisa still had in his possession might he add, and Karma loathe every moment he was without it.

It was a means to which he would have control over something in his life when he felt like he was losing it. If anyone was home he'd simply stay in his room and destroy the predictable patterns of enemies in one of many DS games.

"I didn't think you'd get so clingy when you're ill." Karma blurted out willing down a deepening blush as his mind wandered to the several scenarios in which a clingy Nagisa could have ended. His small groan rattled the spoon.

"Well I've got to cling to you. How else am I going to get you to stick around?" Nagisa jokes with a small soft smile as he rests his head on Karma's shoulder again.

If this was an assassination than he would have jumped Karma's bones by now but even after a hot bath and soup his head was aching too much and his limbs felt too weak to attempt a proper seduction. His usual 'knives' of Seduction and Bloodlust had been tied behind his back and left him with only the third weaker knife of Pity. In terms of assassination weapons it was a butter knife.

"Your face is getting awfully red too Karma." Nagisa mutters in a daze. "Are you sure you're not getting sick too?"

"If I’m getting ill, it's your fault."

It wasn't the first time he'd blushed in Nagisa's company, nor while thinking of him... sometimes he wasn't exactly subtle, but usually it was attached with a sassy remark. Surely Nagisa knew why he'd actually be red in the face.

He wondered briefly how it would go if he said he was just imagining pushing the assassin down and kissing him. Run his hands over his skin to see if his fever ridden body would tremble under his cooler touch. He wanted to know what a vulnerable Nagisa would look like beneath him.

Nagisa, of course, was well aware exactly why Karma is blushing, the chances of Karma having caught his illness were very low and he wouldn't be displaying symptoms this early. Still when his response involves a lot of quiet mumbling under his breath Nagisa decides to tease him a little further by leaning in and kissing his forehead.

Perhaps inevitably, logic slipped the redhead's mind in that moment, caring little if he ended up ill or otherwise; Karma reached his free hand to tangle though the hair on Nagisa's neck as he pulled him into a kiss.

Karma didn't like initiating kisses. Even though it was permitted under Nagisa's 'rule' now he couldn’t help but find it awkward to be the one to start when he wasn’t allowed to touch or hug him like he wanted to. Perhaps it had been Nagisa's plan to keep him in check, but oh how he longed to be allowed to touch.

His hands appeared to almost hit an invisible barrier as he stopped himself from touching Nagisa's waist. He shouldn't even be holding his head, that was daring in itself.

It made the gentle caresses and maybe accidental butt touch feel like a sin that he'd end up burning in hell from. Nagisa had so much control over him. Despite his actions while in the company of his rivals and acquaintances, he respected him too much to destroy this already fragile balance.

"Karma...- _kun_." Nagisa protests, drawing out the space between his name and his honorific in a way that suggests and warns. "You shouldn't kiss me, I'm still sick."

"Don't care."

Karma retorts pressing back in to the kiss. Nagisa wasn't pulling away, it merely encouraged him on. He hadn't gotten to kiss the other in ages. Now was an inconvenient time yes, but he couldn't stop himself from wanting more.

"There's enough chicken soup left."

"And then I'll have to look after you." Nagisa protests but doesn't actually push him away and his small smile shows he is still joking light-heartedly.

"You know you probably wouldn't get sick if you were kissing something other than my mouth." He pulls off the fleece hoodie before tugging down the collar of his shirt a bit to expose his slender, pale neck.

He couldn't rely on his strength or skills with his bones feeling like jelly, the risk of doing too much or too little damage in trying to control Karma was too high. If he was relying on his seduction skills he would have to play along.

"But I'm tired." Nagisa whines, falling forwards into Karma's arms.

"So that means you've got to be gentle."

Karma felt a shiver run up his spine as his whole body broke out in goosebumps. He wasn't expecting this. But he wasn't about to pass up the opportunity.

With shaking hands he dared to wrap his arms around the smaller boy's waist, lowering him so he could lie back against the blankets as he eyed up the exposed flesh.

Carefully he climbed on top to gain better access, his mind racing with a million thoughts. Was Nagisa really offering this to him?

Hesitantly he leaned down to lightly peck at the skin. Testing the waters to see if Nagisa was twisting his arm or not.

As the other continued to let him go about his business, he grew a little more daring. Scraping his teeth lightly over a collarbone before kissing the skin again, sucking lightly and trying to push back his urge to bite harder.

Marks might count as being too rough.

Nagisa curled his arm around Karma's shoulders, holding him close enough that a bullet through Karma's back would be going through the arm first. It doesn't provide much real protection but he feels better for it.

He wasn't lying about being tired. His body feels like mush, aching mush, and he can't put in a good effort to try and play with Karma back.

At least his boner just makes him look eager now, Nagisa thinks to himself. He'd just have to make sure once he got better that it was drilled into Karma he only accepted it because he was sick. Karma slowly relaxed on top of Nagisa as he lazily kissed and sucked his neck, unaware of the origins of the bulge that pressed against his thigh, Karma thought it was just that.

He took a risk without much thought, hands moving from the blankets to run lightly along the other's sides before slipping under the hem of his shirt to caress the smooth skin.

Sinking his teeth lightly at first, then harder into the spot just above Nagisa's collarbone. Sucking the reddening skin he wanted proof that this happened. Even if Nagisa hid it.

Nagisa moaned and it was a high, hoarse sound. The air rushed from his lungs like a creaking door to it as he exhaled. It was a clear reminder that he was still genuinely sick.

"Too rough." The assassin scolds him and his breath wheezes. "If you leave marks I'm going to be so mad as soon as I'm better. You're supposed to be looking after me."

Karma released the skin from his mouth and with an unintentional, almost kicked puppy look to his face, turned to Nagisa briefly before looking down as he was scolded.

"You will be able to hide it." He reasoned as if that would make everything better.

"I can cover up a lot of things." Nagisa says with warning in his tone, hopefully not enough to scare him away but to warn him off creating any other marks. The hint of gravel in his throat probably helps.

"You know I don't always follow the rules." Karma continued teasingly. Licking the mark in apology before going back to more gentle kisses, nips, and sucks. It was hard to hold himself back, he really liked this side of Nagisa. Raw and vulnerable.

Shamefully his fantasies could be a little more accurate now. He wondered what Nagisa's moans were like when he wasn't sick.

He rarely moaned when they kissed, the blue haired boy would either let Karma have his way for a moment, or dominate the kiss in such a way it left him a breathless, jelly mess afterwards. Especially when he used tongue. Karma wondered briefly how good Nagisa's tongue was elsewhere.

He had to stifle a groan against the pale skin, which arguably wasn’t much better than being vocal, as he noticed a problem of his own stirring down his body.

Nagisa wouldn't let him get away with that if he tried. But as a small gasp pulls free from his lips as Karma resumes kissing him, a blush colours his cheeks with embarrassment at the small sound.

Karma looked back up at the other, not breaking contact as he alternated between nipping and kissing again at the skin a little harder, careful not to actually leave any marks.

"If I didn't know any better, Nagisa, I'd say you might actually be enjoying this."

Karma teased as he edged his hands further under the fabric of Nagisa's shirt. His hands were significantly cooler than Nagisa's hot body. It was a nice feeling, the stark contrast made it feel only more _real_.

Slowly Karma trailed those hands up to his chest and gently flicking the nubs with the pad of his thumb before sliding them back down the contours of his body, feeling the muscles tense beneath his fingers as they continued south. Once again he was reminded Nagisa was significantly more toned than he looked.

His hands stopped at Nagisa's waistband remembering the time he's tried to touch the assassin in the car for their first meeting.

Nagisa ignores the hesitation and sticks out the tip of a tiny pink tongue to wet his lips.

"Karma I couldn't be more transparent without hammering a clear pane of glass into my forehead so you could see my thoughts." He says firmly with voice still croaking from his sickness.

He wraps one of his legs around Karma's thigh locking him in place.

"If you spend too long just teasing me I will be upset with you." Nagisa tells him directly.

Karma gulped.

'What about your one rule?' His eyes seemed to ask when the words stuck in his throat. His searched Nagisa's eyes for something to tell him to back off. 

Hesitantly Karma slid his hand under the waistband, taking a moment to rub small circles over well defined hipbones before dipping lower. He felt like he was treading on thin ice. He wanted to do this, but that rule kept nagging at his mind, he respected Nagisa too much to just throw caution to the wind, somehow this felt wrong.

But Nagisa had urged him on and honestly, simply knowing what he was about to do made him harder. In attempt to distract his thoughts he returned his attention the other's neck and chest as his hand wrapped around Nagisa's shaft and began to stroke.

"This doesn't coun- _ah~_ " Nagisa gasps hot and high as he fights to keep his back from arching too dramatically at the relief of finally being touched.

About time, Karma had been driving him crazy with his teasing, although no doubt his client hadn't meant to. By this point he was practically ready to pin him down, tear his shirt off, and fuck himself to satisfaction on Karma’s cock.

"H-Hand jobs don't count." He gasps out as he flops back against the blankets. His cheeks must be burning by now, he can feel the glow of them. Gods he hated being sick. He probably looked so pathetic.

Karma's face on the other hand, simply turned a deeper shade than his hair as he dared to look at the sight before him. Between the hot flush across his cheeks, glazed eyes, and fanned blue hair, Karma had to bite his lip and will himself not to come from the sight alone.

Nagisa's expression was so much hotter than he could have imagined. How many victims had this alluring display drawn in before he killed them? Karma again found himself a little jealous of the people who had got to be with the assassin. Even if they were all six feet under.

"I'll hold you to that statement." He whispered.

Karma's rhythm was torturously slow at first before slowing picking up the pace as confidence grew and Nagisa reacted. Tweaking the other's nipple a little harsher between his thumb and forefinger while his other brushed the tip of Nagisa's dick.

Nagisa bit his lip to prevent himself from making too much noise. It didn't do much and his lips swelled redder from doing so. His breathing was coming in short, harsh pants, nowhere near as attractive as the breathy moans he knew he could make but he couldn't stop them.

His fingers curled in the blankets to stop themselves from pulling Karma down on top of him.

"Don't get used to it." He mutters through his clenched teeth.

Karma pressed the tip a little more harshly, rolling his finger in small circles trying to draw out a stronger reaction. He wanted to see Nagisa arch his back again and crumble beneath his touch.

This was war.

He'd been holding back to not cross that boundary and break Nagisa’s rule, yet Nagisa himself had coaxed him on regardless, and now when Karma was finally daring, he was holding back. This wasn't acceptable. He was a sore loser and even more determined to win this little game.

Karma leaned up to peck at the corner of Nagisa's mouth before tugging lightly at his bottom lip.

"It'd be much more attractive if you let those noises out~" He hummed teasingly before kissing him again to silence any quick witted response.

Nagisa does moan at that, a coarse undignified sound that would have made Bitch-sensei rap him across the knuckles if she knew he was sounding like _that_ in bed.

The little devil...

Nagisa feels like swearing but his head is getting hazy and he can't tell if it's from sickness or the molten heat in between his legs. He is far too weak to fight back now.

Karma was going to get a scolding after this was over but until then there was nothing to do but enjoy it and Nagisa was _enjoying_ it. It was becoming more and more of a struggle to try and order his cracked and croaking moans into something palatable. He swears Karma was doing it on purpose.

Karma simply chuckled at the strangled broken sounds. It sounded like the assassin had just given a blowjob and was going for round 2. He wondered if blowjobs fell under the same category as hand jobs... probably not.

After a particularly slow caress of the tip, Karma's damped hand slid back down the shaft to get a better feel and fondle his balls memorizing the shape and feel, only for his fingers to brush against something that felt like neither skin nor mattress.

He pauses his teasing with both hands to look down as if his eyes would suddenly develop x-ray vision and the foreign object would magically identify itself.

"Nagisa, you don't have a knife in the bed do you?"

Nagisa blinks slowly, unsure if it was a genuine question or an attempt at dirty talk.

"Don't stop." He settles for moaning. "You were doing so well."

Karma’s gaze continued to bore into the layers of fabric, a part of him nagged to investigate what this object was, but it was overshadowed the realization Nagisa had actually praised him.

Leaning back down, one hand ran fingernails lightly over the other's chest and side before latching back on to the hardened nubs, playing with them more as his stilled hand abandoned flesh for a moment to push the object away from his touch and closer to Nagisa, he was pretty sure it was the hilt of a knife that had got wedged between the cushions, if Nagisa wasn’t worried it must have been sheathed.

His hand returned quickly to resume its game of enticing more broken sounds, toying with the base before trailing back up the length of his shaft and teasing the tip only to slide back down and do it again and Nagisa couldn't help but whimper and gasp and cry out and try and curl his body closer.

He'd make Nagisa come one way or another. If only he was allowed a break to grab his toys.

It took a while for his client's eager fingers to finish probing him for reactions and settle down to a comfortable pace but Nagisa can feel him strongly applying everything he had learnt from doing so.

His breath rattles sickeningly in his throat like marbles in a tin as he struggles to breathe. Between the heat of his sickness and the heat of his arousal he delusionally starts to fear he might end up cooked alive by the heat.

His body tenses up as he gulps for air and Karma was drinking in the expressions on Nagisa's face, the way his body moved, the almost pained noises, just everything that was Nagisa.

He felt a little guilty teasing the other's ill stricken body but he couldn't help but find the scene attractive. There was something about the raw side of Nagisa that made it feel less like the assassin was acting, less like it was all a show to put the cards in his favour.

As Karma felt the body beneath him tense, his fingers suddenly stopped just short of release upon hearing a familiar buzzing sound, and judging from the fact he could feel the vibrations in his hand.

Nagisa yelps, his cheeks flushed a bright, bright red with the combination of stimulation, sickness and embarrassment.

"Nagisa, is my phone...?"

A teasing smirk spread across his face. That object he felt before. The one likely now pressed against Nagisa's ass. It was his phone. He’d put it on vibrate so the sound of notifications wouldn’t make Nagisa’s earlier headache worse. How ironic.

Nagisa wants to make some kind of comment about Karma had obviously dropped it but with the extra stimulation he can't properly form words and it just comes out as a needy high-pitched whine.

Whatever teasing remark would have been made afterwards falls short when that sound reached Karma's ears. Well, he didn't need his toys anymore. If someone needed him _that_ urgently they could always call the landline, or his emergency phone he was sure even Nagisa did not know about.

There were only two people who would bother calling him at the moment; His father who would wait only a minute or two for him to pick up, or Rio who was used to him not picking up, especially when she knew he was playing a his DS. He wasn’t about to check how much time he had based on the caller.

Quickening the pace of his hands around the other's shaft and chest, pressing his weight a little more against the assassin and efficiently pushing him further into the sofa bed before nipping at the already red mark on Nagisa’s neck before finally trailing up to nibble and tug at the lobe of his ear he wanted to _hear_ Nagisa come.

Nagisa whimpers, tucked too close against the couch cushions to be able to move away, and melts in Karma's sinful grin. This was a bad idea and he reminds himself again he’s going to have to tell Karma off later, just so Karma doesn't think he can take advantage of him whenever he wants, but right now his body won't move and his thoughts are trailing off into the ether as Karma's hands and the vibrating phone against his rear hit a point that turns his insides to mush.

He comes with a long, low moan that soon turns into a coughing fit, slamming his hand over his mouth as violent coughs shake his body at the same time cum spurts from the tip of his swollen shaft.

Karma is quick to separate himself from Nagisa, stumbling and bracing his hands either side of the other as a wave of dizziness and heat flood his body. He was so caught up in pleasuring Nagisa he forgot his own predicament.

"Nagisa?" He called a little more breathless than he would have liked. Carefully pushing himself up on trembling arms into sitting position with the intent to will himself up off the bed to get the other some water. Perhaps this time he really went too far.

Nagisa's shoulders twitch as his coughing fit comes to a damp end. He wipes up the phlegm from his mouth with a tissue from the coffee table, offering another one to Karma to clean up the mess on his own hands.

His head is ringing hollow and his throat aches painfully.

"That was a bad idea." He outright tells Karma in the dulcet tones of a bullfrog. "My throat is killing me."

Naturally the phone stops ringing soon after.

"Yeah." Karma agreed.

He shouldn’t have given in to the gorgeous blue haired assassin, but he didn’t want to miss out on being close to Nagisa.

Wiping his hand with the offered tissue, he took that, and the pile of used tissues into the kitchen to be disposed off, washing his hands in the sink before opening the fridge to get a bottle of ice cold water. Pouring a glass for the other with a trembling hand before returning to a spot on the edge of the bed, offering it to Nagisa.

"Need anything else?"

Nagisa sits up and shakes his head, regretting it immediately and leans it on Karma's shoulder instead. One hand rests in Karma's lap, the other stealthily disappears under the blankets to check on the state of Karma's phone.

"Is there anything you need?" Nagisa asks Karma as he leans in closer to him.

Karma was going to deal with his own 'problem' later, but Nagisa was leaning so close to him, and his hand grazing the growing damp tent in his pants. He couldn’t suppress the shudder of his body.

Was it selfish to ask relief from the other after that? He felt a twinge of guilt and worded his response carefully. He didn't mind if Nagisa refused. He should let his bodyguard rest, not delay his recovery even more.

"I want to come." He answered quietly, shifting a little uncomfortably. Work pants were not designed for boners.

"I can handle that..." Nagisa says softly and for once the huskiness in his voice makes him sound sexy rather than amphibian. He curls his hand around Karma's crotch to judge his reaction.

Anything to distract him from the phone call he tells himself.

Karma bit his lip in a futile attempt to stifle the sound that fell from his lips. A small smile passes the other’s swollen red lips as his hand ducks under the blankets and feels out the zip of Karma's pants and it dawns on Karma all too suddenly the whole time he hadn't been touched. The sheets bunched in his hands as he attempted to ground himself, the relief was heaven.

Nagisa moved fast on muscle memory alone. Karma was clearly bulging hard against the stiff fabric of his pants and that much pressure was no doubt uncomfortable. He unzipped him with care and helped ease down the redhead's pants enough for him to just be sitting in his underwear. Feeling in a teasing mood after all Karma had put him through he decides to palm him through his underwear for a bit, stroking his palm along the hard curve of Karma's cloth-covered erection.

" _Nngh_ " The redhead moaned loud and long before he could slap a hand over his mouth to silence the sound. A shudder wracked his body as a renewed hot flush coloured his cheeks. He was hoping Nagisa would have gone straight for the kill, but if he was going to tease, he didn't know if he'd survive. Although it wasn't like he didn't deserve it.

"Nagisa..." He whined, biting the back of his hand and rocking his hips into the other's hand, he was so aroused, Nagisa was _touching_ him. He needed more.

Nagisa runs his tongue along his lips in mock concentration, slow and wet so Karma could see the saliva gleam against them. He moves his hand with the movement of Karma's hips so he isn't getting any friction to increase his frustration. Nagisa didn’t falter as the redhead’s thrusting soon fell out of synch as he tried to outsmart the other, each attempt resulting in yet another pathetic whine.

Hooking his fingers into Karma's waistband he eases down his underwear with a torturous slowness, rubbing against each inch of his bulge as it is freed. To prevent anything from rubbing off on the blankets Nagisa quickly caps Karma's tip with his hand.

"It's already wet..." He says quietly and Karma groans as Nagisa continued to deny and tease him.  He threw his head back, biting into his clenched fist to stifle the sound. Of course he was wet.

"Nagisa, don't tease." He pleaded. Any other time he would have tried to hold out, savour this once in a lifetime chance, but god he just wanted to come.

Nagisa blinked his long lashes, looking into Karma's eyes with his own wide, blue ones. He leans his body firmly against Karma’s so his client is taking most of the weight of his toned torso against his own chest so he can curl one of his legs around the redhead’s thigh.

Comfortably nestled against Karma, Nagisa takes a moment to observe the flushed look running across his face. His cheeks are almost the same colour as his hair and if he bites at his fist any harder he might cut the skin. He feels a temptation to tease him further, just to let him know he didn't appreciate it when Karma did it, but he resists the desire and instead gives him a quick tender kiss on the cheek as he starts to stroke long and slow down his length.

Karma didn’t know what to do, where to put his hands. He was never on the receiving end unless he was having a particularly bad day and needed a blow or hand job. He bit harder into his fist breaking the skin just a little as his breath came out in short, hot gasps.

Against his will, his body hunched forward against the other, awkwardly trying to hide his face against the other’s shoulder as his hips continued to rock trying and meet Nagisa's movements. He felt so incredibly embarrassed all of a sudden. It felt so different with Nagisa.

Nagisa continued to stroke Karma off, putting effort into making each touch strong and firm. Leaning in close to him, Nagisa takes advantage of his firmly curled position to take Karma's ear in his mouth and start lightly sucking, biting and flicking the shell of it with his tongue as he stroked at a steadily increasing pace.

Karma _squeaked_ embarrassingly loudly, releasing his grip on the sheets to clamp both hands over his mouth. A familiar tightness pooled in his stomach and his body tensed. He was dizzy, his vision clouding, and frantically rocking harder into Nagisa's grip. So close, so close, _so close_.

Nagisa exhales and his hot, wet breath tickles Karma's ear. He keeps his grip firm as he drags his hand down Karma's length, keeping him captive in his fingers until he feels fluid spurt from his tip. It is a small act of control over him but Nagisa continues to stroke Karma off even as he cums to over stimulate him.

Karma couldn't take it, the bliss of finally reaching climax coupled with the feeling of Nagisa's continued gestures. He couldn't contain the lewd cry and following moan of Nagisa's name as he gasped for air. His back arching in a violent jerk before the momentum saw him falling back against the bundle of blankets unable to fight gravity.

Shakily he tried to cover his mouth but his body betrayed him as he continued to squirm and curl under the other's touch.

"T-too... much." Tears collected at the corner of his eyes and saliva dripping down from the corner of his mouth as he whimpered pathetically and almost cutely and again Nagisa kissed his cheek, tender yet possessive and slows the movement of his hand. He milks out the last few spurts before wiping his hand clean on a fresh tissue.

With a sigh he leans back against the pillow too, playing with the short hairs on the nape of Karma's neck with the fingers of his clean hand as his client struggles to catch his breath.

Karma lay there against the blankets as his trembling body slowly started to come down from its high. A pleasant tingling feeling spread throughout his being, the cool air did little to stifle the heat.

Slowly his vision came back into focus and he turned to face the other. He looked even more attractive like this. His thoughts turned to wonderment of how many people Nagisa had actually killed this way, and if he'd go back to that life after December. The thought alone made him a little sad. He really didn't want Nagisa to leave.

"You should go freshen up." Nagisa tells him. "You've been sweating a lot."

The redhead nodded to show he had heard the suggestion but opted to watch Nagisa just a little bit longer as if memorizing his features all over again before reluctantly pulling himself upright on weak, shaking legs. Instead of walking away he detoured to kiss Nagisa lightly on the forehead muttering a quiet 'thank you' before making the return trek upstairs for the second bath of the day.

"If you need me just call out" He called halfway up the stairs, rubbing away the bubbling emotions from his eyes. He was probably going to soak for a quite a while.

Nagisa waited until he heard the bathroom door click closed then retrieves the phone from the folds of the couch cushions. He covers the speaker with the palm of his hand as he turns it on and enters in Karma's five digit pin. The unlock screen displays a swipe-bar under the time but more importantly it also keeps a log of Karma's last received messages. There is the record of two missed calls and, as Nagisa scrolls down, text messages from the information broker. Along as he didn't wipe across to re-open the message app he could view these messages without them being registered as read.

He has to infer Karma's half of the conversation from the response. It looks like he had been asking about him. Rio was lucky she didn't have anything worthwhile on his activities last night. Otherwise Nagisa would have had to call her up while Karma was in the bath and have a little 'talk'.

He puts the phone down on the coffee table and leans back against the couch cushions, letting himself be lulled into a gentle doze by the sound of water flowing through the pipes and the approaching patter of heavy rain.

He felt more content than he should, comfortable, warm, safe curled up on the couch. He was a professional, even sick he should be alert and keeping a close eye on his client but for now the couch was too comfortable and he felt the gentle tug of sleep wash over him.

It was because he was sick, Nagisa says to himself as he drifts back into sleep. He’s not always going to be so vulnerable around Karma. It had been a last resort. Surely the sickness was the reason for the warmth in his chest when Karma had touched him. Nothing more.


	6. May

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just in case we forgot this is a Mafia AU, someone was bound to get hurt eventually... right?  
> Also tags will be updated seeing as this is a pretty heavy chapter. Bumping up the rating for Nagisa's past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also and update on behinds the scenes, looking at the August chapter potentially to be swapping updates to monthly, and allowing early access to the full pdf version as well as the concept pdf. Talking with some book printers and looking at putting funds from pdf sales towards funding a giveaway for a printed version of this au in all its 15 chapter glory. If the printers ever reply lmao. Please look out for next monday's update!

The four month point was fast approaching and Karma was getting bored at the seemingly lack of interest in attempts on his life. Worse still, his attempts to woo Nagisa into his arms and then his bed hadn't improved in the slightest.  As an attractive male with only sometimes questionable personality traits, he had no troubles seducing any gender into his pants except for that one time his 'your bed or mine?' teasing, half-serious retort to one Gakushu's blunt 'fuck you' comment bore no fruit, and now Nagisa was added to that list that was already two names too long.

He hated to admit Gakushu was probably right and Nagisa was just doing the job he’d been assigned to do but it meant that playing with Nagisa was the only enjoyment he was getting out of that front.

No one was daring enough to try and hit him over the head with a metal pipe, throw a punch, or swing a knife. It meant his collection of concealed scars hadn’t increased, but he could almost _feel_ his skills getting rusty.

No doubt it was out of good faith. Nagisa likely wasn’t aware the only real threats were gangs you’d pissed off, not so much the other participants of the meetings. If you were really unlucky, gangs outside of the four territories would hunt you down but so far Karma hadn’t crossed that boundary. Perhaps that’s what Nagisa feared would take him.

Regardless it meant the few times he got to see fights the opponents were pathetic and desperate. Cowering in fear not from Karma, but from his bodyguard.

He almost wished something big would go down just so he could feel that rush of adrenaline again.

Discussions with Rio turned up very little and he knew it was playing a dangerous game knowing how buddy buddy the blonde and Nagisa had become, going out on the days Karma spent in the care of his parents to gossip over coffee and sweets before spending hours shopping for the latest trends. It was conversation completely off the radar. Nothing recorded. Nothing business. Just banter between friends.

Rio had at one point admitted to Nagisa the supposed sexual encounter she'd teased Karma about for years was a lie. The bit about alcohol and getting into  bed together was entirely true and they had gone in with the intention of sex, but after a few kisses the encounter ended with Karma falling asleep and Rio admittedly disappointment. To save their reputations and her own embarrassment she'd made up the story they'd gone all the way. It felt like letting go of the past, she had told Nagisa as their time together that day drew to an end.

"Do what you want with the information, there's no shame in it getting out now."

Nagisa enjoyed the break as much as Karma enjoyed the brief windows he got to see his parents and indulge in the knowledge they brought back from foreign lands.

As another uneventful day drew to a close, Karma went to bed early having rage quitted a particular level had him stumped. Seems he wasn’t having the best of luck in game and in real life.

 

Deviation from his normal sleeping pattern meant it would come as no surprise that the redhead woke at the ungodly hour of 2am. What was more surprising as he begrudgingly dragged himself out of bed to pee was the sound of running water.

At first he dismissed it as the rain, attempting to doze back off until he heard the familiar click of the shower door.

Curious, at some point Karma found himself slipping a business card down the crack of the door unhinging the lock Nagisa placed on the opposite side to keep him in at night and making his way downstairs.

Bypassing the shower Karma peered into the lounge to make sure Nagisa wasn’t sleeping. In hindsight if Nagisa was asleep in bed and someone else was in his shower there would be an issue. But in his sleep filled daze, Karma’s logic went more or less out the window.

His attention was drawn back as he noticed the absence of noise. The shower had been turned off and he was reminded why he had originally come down.

Returning to the door he noticed the colour was off. Splattered with a dark liquid that smelt vaguely of iron. If there was one thing Karma could tell even in a sleep induced haze, it was blood.

Was Nagisa hurt?

As he raised a hand to the door it opened and he was greeted by the ever attractive, but weary, face of his bodyguard.

His eyes fell lazily to Nagisa’s body, looking it over with unfocused eyes trying to determine the source of blood. Nagisa may be his bodyguard but he didn’t want him getting hurt. His fear only increased as his eyes found the floor and the discarded torn and bloodied clothes.

Sensing his discomfort Nagisa spoke in the softest voice he could manage, hoping to coax the other back to the lull of sleep before he could ask any questions.

“It’s not time to get up yet, you need to go back to bed.”

To his disappointment, Karma didn’t budge, although he did yawn and rub his eye in an almost adorable fashion. His head bobbing gently from the effort of trying to keep focused. Nagisa employed a different tactic. Leaning in just close enough for their bodies to brush and slipping a hand down to loosely entwine with Karma’s.

“ _Karma_.” The words dripped like honey off his lips as they ghosted over Karma’s own. The redhead’s attention shifted entirely to his mouth and Nagisa knew he had him caught.

“We were on our way to bed weren’t we?” He cooed sweetly and it took a moment for the other’s mind to process the words before slowly nodding.

“Then what are we waiting for?” He continued, effortlessly manoeuvring them back towards the stairwell before climbing the stairs.  With Nagisa in front almost pulling the redhead up behind him, he watched Karma yawn a dozen times but his gaze never faltering.

Once in the room it was easy enough to get Karma next to bed, but a little more effort to actually get him _into_ the bed. Nagisa had to resort to crawling under the sheets and giving the other his best come hither look.

Karma of course took the opportunity to innocently snake his arms around his waist. Nagisa had to fight back the urge to slap his wandering hands away trying to remind himself at best Karma believed this was a dream and dream Nagisa was someone who played Karma’s game. Prying each finger off one by one it was like trying to fend off an amorous octopus, as soon as you freed yourself from one tentacle, another two had replaced it.

The compromise landed them with Karma in bed and Nagisa straddling his waist. Not the most ideal position but still better than Karma cuddling him. But just when he thought he was on the home stretch, a small pathetic noise fell from Karma’s lips.

It took him longer than it should have to realise what the other said was ‘please’ and longer still to realise Karma was still waiting for a kiss.

Internally sighing, Nagisa reminded himself that kisses were allowed and just this once, he’d kiss Karma in his bed.

Leaning in and kissing him ever so sweetly, watching his eyes close for longer and longer, the appreciative hum slowly dying out, and the hold on his hips weakening, until finally he could pull back without Karma wanting more.

Nagisa waited a few minutes more just to make sure the redhead had returned to sleep before carefully removing himself from the bed. Pulling up the sheets and tucking him in like a small child before placing a delicate kiss to his forehead. Karma could be surprisingly cute when he wasn’t trying to show off. Too bad he wasn’t like this all of the time.

With that in mind Nagisa silently slipped out of the room, locking the door the same way he left it before returning downstairs to clean up the blood and dispose of the evidence before he too fell into the realm of sleep.

Karma would later wake to arguably the worst case of morning wood he’d had since the Charity event. He had a vague recollection of Nagisa in bed with him and the familiar softness of his lips on his. The difference this time was how real those snippets of memory felt.

He’d considered asking Nagisa about it as he went downstairs for breakfast, glancing at the shower door as if something would differentiate dream from reality but to his dismay, the handle was the same as always.

*  *  *

 

Nagisa flicked the knife’s blade out and tossed it in the air. It spun end over end in a gleaming silver fan before Nagisa caught it on his palm. He retracted the blade against the heel of his palm, flicked the blade out again, and tossed it up over the back of his hand once more.

The entire motion took only a few seconds. Knife tricks weren’t on the official curriculum but all of Korosensei’s students knew a few; the seniors taught them to their juniors in a long standing school tradition. He’d had knife games instead of clapping games or skipping rhymes and one of his classmates was missing the topmost joint of their left pinkie finger because of it.

The song that came with the knife tossing game came to mind unbidden. Nagisa hummed the Russian under his breath. The knife’s edge hummed as it cut through the air in a shining silver circle. Throw, catch, throw, catch. His body knew what to do on instinct, leaving his mind free to contemplate other things.

Whatever else he thought of Karma he had good taste in knives. The one he was tossing was perfectly balanced.

It was the one he had taken off the redhead on their first meeting, the knife he had professed to be his favourite. Nagisa favoured knives; he could give the model, make and retail price on sight. He had noticed as soon as he had taken it the pattern of wear on the handle and the carefully maintained edge on the blade. It had seen heavy wear; it was clear Karma cared for it.

It was a pity he didn't know how to use it.

Oh Nagisa had certainly worse, there was a certain bravado that came with carrying a knife even if you didn't know how to use it, but the pattern of wear on the blade was that of a self-taught amateur. As Karasuma said, 'a weapon you don't know how to use belongs to your enemy.'

Under other circumstances Nagisa wouldn't have minded. His client not knowing how to fight didn't change the terms of his contract and he'd never worried about Karma's education before.

He was thinking about it now.

Every throw, every catch, tugged at the fresh wound.

Okuda had stitched him up pretty good but he felt it with every breath. Karma's eyes were drawn to it like iron filings to a magnet, even under his shirt. Neither of them could forget about that neat little slice, just one of many but somehow more painful than all of Nagisa's other wounds put together.

 “Nagisa, if you’re going to teach me to fight shouldn’t there be some kind of reward?” Karma mused with his playful, cocky demeanour. Despite how childish or condescending the redhead could be at times, he’d come to appreciate it as just another part of his character.

It was nice to see the redhead back on his feet and prancing about like the final boss who hadn’t a care in the world at the beginning of the game. This however, was Nagisa’s game, and in this situation Karma was beneath him and it was his job to get him up to scratch.

As it turned out Karma was rather harmless to him. His insistence to uphold his belief of justice and law meant he would not touch Nagisa in any way that would put a hindrance on his bid to win him over. Whatever reward the other had floating around couldn’t be bad. Perhaps he just wanted a kiss. Or an excuse to take him to the movies for another date.

“What did you have in mind?”

Karma’s smile was devilish but didn’t faze him in the slightest.

“I’ve shown you the real me so I want to know the real you too. You denied my questions on our first date-“

“That wasn’t a date but continue.”

“Our first _unofficial_ date, there’s stuff I want to know. Your file says nothing get mine tells almost all. It’s hardly fair don’t you think?”

Nagisa pondered the request for a moment, knife still flicking in his fingers before nodding his approval and returning a taunting smile and a small giggle.

“On one condition. You have until the end of our session to get me to talk, for every second I know you to the ground I will stop talking. It’ll be a good way to judge how well you cope with distractions.”

The smell of Nagisa’s childhood was the smell of wet dirt and pine. The days it didn’t rain it snowed in a thick crisp blanket that blurred the boundary between land and sky. As much as he tried to forget the past behind the happier times all he needed as a word, a sound and he was back in the cold of the Russian winter.

He parried a blow, letting Karma’s blade slip along his like water.

“The war started before I was born.” Nagisa tells him. “My earliest memory is of huddling around the dying fire in a church while my mother told me to keep quiet and the boots of the soldiers echoed outside.”

All he has to do is say it and he can hear the howling wind rattling the barred wooden doors and the high ragged voice of an old woman deep in prayer. He could almost smell snow on the air.

“Ours or theirs, it didn’t matter anymore. My mother said my father had been a soldier. I never met him.”

Nagisa sweeps the blade of his training knife against Karma’s throat.

“Dead.” He says simply and moves back into his first stance.

Karma swallows and rubs at his throat. Nagisa waits until Karma attempts his first strike before he continues.

“My mother said all the soldiers did for us was improve the quality of the soil.” A wry smile plays around his lips.

Nagisa ducks under the redhead’s wild blow and rests the tip of the blade under Karma’s ear.

“Dead again, you really have to try harder Karma.” He scolds the redhead. “I barely have time to say anything.”

“Fine, fine.” Karma shakes out his arms and refocuses.

“We were on rations until I was five, a crust of bread between us. After they took anyone who would have grown crops. I remember the rows and rows of empty fields…” Nagisa’s tone becomes wistful and Karma mistakes it for an opening.

The assassin steps on his arm and Karma’s knife clatters to the ground. Nagisa’s knife stops an inch from Karma’s left eye.

“You’re still too predictable.” Nagisa clicks his tongue disapprovingly.

“I know!” Karma snaps as he recovers his knife.

“Then fix it.” Nagisa says coolly and continues. “We scavenged and stole what we could but the only ones with food were the army and they’d shoot you on sight. It counts as treason to try and take even the scraps.”

Nagisa sighs.

“I spent every night hungry. We mashed up pine needles and snow to make soup and my mother would cut me a piece of pine wood to chew. I still chewed my nails down as much as I could. And do you know what?”

Despite himself Karma finds himself following along with the story and Nagisa’s blade sweeps up under his chin.

“I’m not sure you understand the point of this lesson.” Nagisa tells him but his tone is playful rather than scolding and Karma smiles.

Nagisa pulls back and settles into a crouched stance.

“To me it was all normal. Always being hungry, always being cold, that was just what it meant to be alive. I never questioned it.”

“Nagisa…” Karma says quietly.

“My mother sold herself.” Nagisa tells him and makes a snake fast strike towards Karma.

This time Karma isn’t distracted by the assassin’s words and manages to dodge away from the jab. Nagisa moves forwards aggressively to force Karma on the defensive.

“My mother was an attractive woman and she left early in the morning and came back late with some bread or firewood or potatoes. Once we even had some boiled grey meat, mostly fat with bristles still in the skin. That night was like Christmas to me.” Nagisa smiles at the memory of it.

His next strike knocks Karma off balance. Nagisa gives him a kick to the rear rather than strike with the knife.

“Never grow up, she told me.” Nagisa’s tone grows quiet as his trip down memory lane takes a dark turn. “Little boys grow up to be soldiers. She wanted me to stay her little girl forever.”

Nagisa dodges out of the way of a slice of Karma’s and notes the way he follows through with the blow without exposing the weak points as before.

“My mother treated me as a girl until I was twelve.”

“What happened when you were twelve?” Karma asks and dodges Nagisa’s swift blow.

“Making demands of me Karma?” Karma’s back hits the wall and Nagisa sweeps the blade up under his chin. “Not very sporting of you.”

Karma meets his gaze fearlessly.

“I want to know.”

Nagisa stretches his shoulders as he moves back. The brisk exercise is already making his cheeks flushed and his heart beat faster. Besides this wasn’t anything not already known to his classmates or teachers.

“A soldier came to us.” He says simply and settles back into first position. “We were living in an old wool shed then. I wasn’t supposed to leave it but I wasn’t the most obedient kid. I would sneak out the back and play with rocks.”

“Rocks?” Karma asks incredulously.

“Rocks.” Nagisa confirms with a nod. “There was a dirt track by the back of the shed and I used to pretend all the rocks were soldiers. I’d draw a line in the mud and throw them at each other and I was doing this one day and I looked up and there was a real soldier there.”

Nagisa’s knife gleams as he flips it between hands

“He was overweight. I had never seen an overweight guy. It was like seeing Baba Yaga’s hut. My mother told me if I ever saw a soldier I was to hide and not make a sound so they wouldn’t find me but this one had already found me. I was like a rabbit in the headlights.”

Nagisa laughs a dry laugh without humour.

“He was just sitting there on a rock eating and even though I knew I should I couldn’t run away. He noticed me and he waved me over and held out the food and then my stomach growled so loud I was embarrassed.”

Nagisa’s knife nearly nicks Karma’s ear.

“So I went over to him and he broke me off a piece of what he was eating and sat there and watched me eat it. Even then I thought that was creepy.”

Nagisa’s leg whirls round in a kick that catches Karma in the side and ruins his plans for a counter attack.

“He asked me if I liked it and I said yes and he asked if I knew what it was called and I said I didn’t and he said it was called chocolate and asked me if I would like some more.” Nagisa underlies the dialogue with rapid savage jabs of his knife. “And I said yes and he said I would have to do something for him first. Then he kissed me.”

Nagisa’s knife opens a small cut on Karma’s cheek.

“Focus Karma.” Nagisa scolds him. “Focus on what I’m doing, not what I’m saying.”

“Sorry.” Karma moves his eyes back to the blade in Nagisa’s hand. “He kissed you?”

“He grabbed me by the hair and forced my head to the side.” Nagisa keeps his voice a careful monotone but the memory is so sharp it hurts. “He started moving his hand up my thigh so I bit him and kicked out hard and managed to get him in the crotch. He dropped me and I ran for it. He yelled after me, calling me an ungrateful bitch and I was so scared.”

Nagisa's calm smile is belied by the fear he still feels from that memory.

"I ran straight for my mother and she hit me for being a disobedient child. She said I should pull my weight and give the soldier what he wanted. I was crying. I told her he was going to be angry when he found I wasn’t a girl and she hit me harder. Then she got down the wool shears from the wall, big scissors the size of your forearm, and said she was going to cut off my cock so the soldier had a hole to fuck.”

“Oh god.” Karma’s voice is filled with quiet horror.

“I tried to get away but she held me down and said that if I had just had the decency to be born a girl she wouldn’t have to do this to me.”

The knife blade gleams silver as Nagisa spins it through the air.

“Then he came in demanding to know where I was and she let go of me. She pointed him straight towards me and said he could do whatever he wanted to me, she could always have more children, just please leave her in peace.”

Though his tone remains steady Karma can clearly see the wounded betrayal in Nagisa’s eyes.

“He didn’t like that.” Nagisa’s voice is cool and even as if discussing the weather. “He threw her to the ground and shot her in the head.”

That sound is forever going to haunt him. Not the sound of the gunshot though, that he had gotten used to. It was the sound that came after, before the body realized it was dead. He still remembered the wet gasping sounds his mother made as she tried to haul herself up with half her brains splattered across the floor and the blood pooling on the dirt.

“Then he looked straight at me and said that if I was good and got on my hands and knees and sucked him off in apology he wouldn’t hurt me.”

Karma’s back hits the wall again as Nagisa forces him back. Their blades lock together and trap Karma’s arms.

“What did you do then?” The redhead asks breathlessly, no longer able to focus on their fight.

Nagisa smiles and the point of his blade tickles Karma’s ribs.

“I walked straight up to him, got down on my knees and said I was very sorry for my behavior and while he was undoing his belt I reached into the sheathe at his side and took out his hunting knife…”

Nagisa leans in by Karma’s ear and whispers as if to a lover.

_“And I slit his throat.”_

A shiver that has nothing to do with the room temperature passes over Karma’s entire body. Nagisa leans back and flicks away the blade of the training knife.

“I didn’t know people had that much blood in them.” The assassin says in a dreamy tone, lost in the mists of memory. “He spurted, like a fountain. It was so warm and it made the dirt into mud…”

Nagisa gives a little cough and shakes his head to clear it.

“That’s enough training for today.”

“No, that can’t be it!” Karma complains. “What happened next?”

Nagisa gives a shrug of disinterest.

“I stripped the body and started heading west. Irina picked me up from there and if you want to hear any more you’ll have to ask Sensei.”

Nagisa hums and rests the folded knife against his chin.

“Actually it wouldn’t be a bad idea for you to get some lessons from him. You’re capable on unlearning bad behaviours quickly, you’ve shown that much, but he’s a much better teacher than I am. If you really want to learn how to fight you should definitely meet him, although,” and here Nagisa smiles “I doubt you’ll get more than an abridged version of my schooldays.”

“I might have to check if my bodyguard is o.k. with it first.” Karma mocks him as he straightens up and checks the cuts and bruises he has received.

Nagisa rolls his sapphire blue eyes.

“Time to hit the showers.” He tells him.

*  *  *

“Karma, something doesn’t feel right about this.” Nagisa whispered keeping pace with the redhead who was more than a little enthusiastic about getting his hands dirty in territory affairs.

“We should call the exchange off and try again.” He pressed but still Karma would not listen, playing with his switchblade as if memorizing the feel and weight all over. He wasn’t entirely surprised. The redhead hadn’t had his beloved blade for majority if the year after Nagisa confiscated it.

“No way, you have no idea how hard it was to arrange a meeting with this guy in the first place. If you’re worried you can hang back and wait for me.” He teased with a wink and Nagisa suppressed the urge to punch him in the shoulder.

“Then I wouldn’t be doing my job.” He said instead, still incredibly thankful for the incinerator a few blocks down.

“Sometimes I feel like my father’s just paying you to stand there and look pretty, I haven’t had anyone on my doorstep in months.” The redhead continued to whine before changing his tune back in an instant, swiftly turning on foot to continue his walk backwards, one hand in his pocket with the other reaching out to gently cup Nagisa’s chin.

“I’d rather be paying to buy you a fancy dinner, maybe a movie, and then some fun in the sheets?”

“You were doing well until that last part.” The blue haired assassin sighed.

Karma shrugged playfully and turned back as Terasaka signalled with a rather reluctant sign at his boss’ shameless behaviour as they neared the exchange point.

“I just want to have all kinds of fun with my boyfriend. Vanilla and the Rated.”

“Last I checked you’ve been dateless for coming on 5 months.” Retorted with the slightest hint of playfulness to his tone.

“I wonder why that is?” Karma hummed opening the door to a rundown pub of drunkards. The exchange was to be held out back. It was a dingy old building on the corner of the slums bordering Ryuki’s territory. The traffic was decent and any potential witnesses were so drunk off their asses they couldn’t see shit nor did they care.

It gave their provider a false sense of security in the belief someone would remember if he was killed on the spot. In Karma’s opinion the guy was expendable not that it should come to that anyway. This was a get in get out sort of task. They most they should have to deal with was the potential of a bar fight.

He didn’t realise how wrong he was until the fighting broke out. Knives in hand, fists connecting with flesh, and guns waved in the air.

The scrawny informant, with black hair combed over along the sides of his head and thin framed oval glasses, had dropped the small box disguised as some rip-off anime collector edition and scrambled to the bar for some semblance of sanctuary.

Karma replayed the events in his mind trying to determine where everything went wrong. He’d seen the informant with some other individual clearly not one of his own. Opting for an overpowering sneak attack to remove this mysterious third party member and reclaim his soon to be stolen goods before they were ambushed.

In that moment it dawned on the redhead this wasn’t just some lowlife from Ryuki’s sector who’d caught wind of a deal hoping to cash in on some sort of good to bargain his way up the system. As soon as the tattered hoodie came off he was all too aware they had been played by one of Gakushu’s men.

Despite the guns in hand, the blood splattered across the dirt came only from close combat knives and a barrage of fists. The weapons were for show. Gakushu obviously didn’t want a bloodbath and frankly the redhead assumed the blonde didn’t even know what the exchange was about, only that it was happening and whatever it was, he didn’t want Karma to have it.

A fist fight over a box of something insignificant would look better than a shoot up over something potentially insignificant. Gakushu was a smart man, he wouldn’t take the risk. The show of force was simply a rouse to scare him off. But Karma wasn’t scared.

Or at least he wasn’t, until he felt Nagisa’s weight on top of him, digging his rear and elbows into the ground as the warm feeling of liquid trickled down, staining his shirt.

Nagisa let out a pained gasp as he twisted his body to kick his attacker off with the heavy heel of his shoe. Bracing an arm on the around, his body leaning on Karma’s for support as he pulled his own gun and shot once into the air.

All at once the commotion stopped, the two sides filing away as if they were mere school children obeying the lunchtime bell.

Everything started coming into focus after that. Karma remembered almost blindly fending off his attackers one moment, then the next being almost tossed to the ground, followed finally by nothing. No fighting. No package. Just his men tending to each other’s wounds and Nagisa crouched before him with almost feverish eyes as he gripped the wound that tore open the fabric of his waistcoat and shirt on his right side. Blood coloured his hand red as his breathing came out unevenly.

“Are you hurt?” Nagisa questioned, eyes somewhat unfocused but looking him over before coming to rest on the blooming red on this shirt.

Karma only managed a shake of his head as he stared at the red liquid still falling from beneath his fingers and Nagisa gave a half-hearted smile and got up to leave, on instinct Karma reached to grab his wrist.

“Nagisa, you’re hurt!” He said with a bit more urgency than he would have liked even if he was worried beyond belief. He thought Nagisa was untouchable yet here he was, stabbed while saving Karma’s own sorry ass.

“I need to get to the others.” Nagisa replied and Karma grip tightened more desperately.

“Nagisa there’s blood everywhere you need a doctor.” He pressed and Nagisa forcefully pulled his hand away.

“I need you to let go of me so I can borrow Itona’s medical kit, strap myself up, and take care of _your_ gang mates who are also injured! Stop worrying about me and think about your gang for once!”

Karma was at a loss for words. He wasn’t used to being yelled at in this fashion. Sure he’d been scolded when he played up, partners had raised voices when he discovered them cheating, but no one had affected him as much as Nagisa had in that moment.

He knew he was selfish, he had the utmost trust in his gang, but something about the ice in Nagisa’s voice cut him to the bone.

For the first time he felt disconnected from the world around him, simply an observer, watching the world resolve without him.

Nagisa quickly tended to his wound, dressing it with gauze, and bandaging it up, before tending to everyone else. Looking them over and helping the gang patch each other up.

He noticed the way they rolled their sleeves a less on one side to cover the bandaging. Button their shirts one more to hide a nasty bruise. He wondered how he hadn’t noticed it before. He hadn’t really cared. They were surprisingly good at medical and concealing and it was with a twinge of guilt Karma pondered whether it was because he consistently threw them into the fray without a thought of whether they’d get hurt.

What a horrible boss he’d become. No wonder Nagisa was angry with him.

Terasaka broke him from his thoughts.

“Oi boss get the hell up, we’re going to Okuda’s clinic to get Nagisa patched up.”

*  *  *

The clinic itself was by no means one of the closer buildings to drive to, but it was of the few that drew little attention to itself and had a no questions asked policy so long as the payment was fair. They prided themselves on the belief all life was equal and because of this it had wormed its way into neutral territory. No one was game enough to launch an attack and lose such a vital support to their cause.

Terasaka’s gang came here enough after a round of roughhousing to pick up supplies and patch up their wounds before returning home they practically had a VIP pass into the place and upon their arrival they were admitted immediately into Okuda’s care.

“What did you guys do this time, I barely have enough supplies after the last fight- oh dear!” The petite, timid looking medic gasped, hands covering her mouth in shock and knocking her oval glasses. It wasn’t the brawly buff guys that were injured for once, but a newcomer.

“Put them down here.” She tapped the bed frantically and scrambled over to the table to get out some equipment.

Karma couldn’t take his eyes off the assassin as blood continued to ooze from his wound. The scale of which was made all the more clear as he forced himself up to help Terasaka relieve him of his shirt. The wound looked so deep.

“Does anyone else have injuries like this?”

"Nah, we're good." Terasaka waves her off as the rest of the gang set about raiding the cupboards.

Karma notes out of the corner of his eyes the deep purple and red bruises mottling their sides and the cuts, none as deep as Nagisa's, being unbound from scraps of torn t-shirts and cleaned out with bottles of disinfectant.

They take care of their wounds with a practised ease. There is no joking and laughter between them as they care for their own and each other’s wounds. Karma forces his attention away from a recently revealed gash on Takuya's shoulder, six inches long and deep enough to scar, as Yoshida wipes a cloth soaked in disinfectant across it for him.

At this time yesterday he wouldn't have given a thought to his gang after a fight. They'd never asked him for money for medical care; he'd thought they'd never gotten hurt. He should have realized they would be too stubborn to ask for his help with something so 'small' as some cuts and bruises.

“Karma.” Okuda stumbles over her words with a faint blush as she brushes her twin braids out of the way as she sets to work disinfecting the area of Nagisa’s gash with experienced hands. “Are you okay? You’ve got blood on your shirt, you should take it off-”

She cut herself off trying to will back the intensifying blush at her words.

It was an action that didn’t go unnoticed by Nagisa as she prepared the wound for stitches. Did she have some sort of relationship with Karma? An ex-girlfriend perhaps? It couldn’t be. The way she carried herself implied emotions for his client that weren’t recuperated. He hated that he was almost relieved Karma seemed oblivious to her advances.

“It’s... not my blood.” Karma replied, gaze never shifting from the wound that was slowly pulled shut. The skin was sunken in he knew not even Okuda could prevent it from scarring.

The cut had started to congeal but was still far too deep. Its red edges gaped like a second mouth as Okuda cleans out the wound.

"Now this is going to hurt a fair bit." She warns Nagisa as she threads a needle. "Don't do anything too strenuous until the stitches dissolve, it might reopen."

"I'm used to it." Nagisa says in a monotone and doesn't as much as flinch as the needle goes in.

Guilt condensed itself into a blade that ran him though with those words. He was just another mission leaving a permanent reminder on his pale skin. How many scars did Nagisa have to treat pain like this so casually? His selfish desire for a relationship aside, he didn’t want to be another person to have a negative impact on the assassin’s life. He’d have to apologise, wholeheartedly, when they got home.

*  *  *

The car ride home was one of uncomfortable silence. The air so thick even Terasaka did dare tempt it with flicking on the radio. It was almost like time way standing still and as the vehicle finally pulled into the driveway a little past, only Nagisa bid the larger man farewell before following the redhead inside.

Like a serpent ambushing its prey, as soon as the door clicked shut Karma knew he was doomed. The air was so thick it was hard to breathe and to make matters worse Nagisa was pretending everything was normal. Informing Karma he needed to shower and change his clothes before leaving the redhead to wait in apprehension of the other’s return.

He stood frozen in place. Fearful moving to the couch or getting a drink to quench his dry throat would only provoke the serpent more.

He focused instead on maintaining control. Suppressing his emotions and willing back the tears as he felt the coils of an anxiety attack wrap around his form. It became an internal war between what he feared more. Anxiety’s chokehold or Nagisa’s strike?

After what seemed like an eternity the bathroom door opened and a smartly dressed Nagisa with his hair cascading down his shoulder.

 ‘Usually I put my hair down when I’m about to kill someone.’

The words from their first meeting echoed in his mind as his anxiety and fear called back in a condescending, sing-song way, ‘He’s going to kill you.’

“When are you going to realise this is not one of your video games where your actions don’t matter so long as you restart before the last save point?” His voice was smooth like honey, but his words were poison.

Karma stood in silence.

"I didn't teach you how to fight so you could get someone killed with your recklessness." Nagisa's voice is as cold and clear as ice. It would have been better if he had yelled or sounded angry. The cold disappointment was so much worse.

"Nagisa, I'm sorry..." Karma says in a small voice.

"Sorry?" Nagisa's quiet whisper cuts through him worse than if he was yelling. "Is this the first time someone you care about has gotten hurt? Or is this the first time you've bothered to check?"

Nagisa's words pierce him like daggers. Karma has nothing to say in his defence. It's all true. He hadn't asked. He hadn't even thought to ask. He'd just assumed...

What had he assumed, that no-one got hurt? Nagisa was right, he had been treating this as a game. His gang deserved a better leader than him, someone who would care about them as much as they apparently cared about him.

What was he even thinking? Of course it was never enough, he was never doing enough for them. The MMO raids together, the movie nights he could only had enough energy to stay for half of, the banter about video games... deep down he knew it was never enough.

He’d told Terasaka about his depression. His anxiety. Terasaka in turn had kept his secret safe, nudged the gang into giving him the space he needed.

There was a lot of people in his gang, surely not all of them would be so accepting even on his best days. He’d always been told he had the looks and the smarts but his personality was a complete turn off to everyone. He tried not to let it bother him, but... it always bothered him.

The car ride alone he’d beaten himself up several times over what happened, the crushing wave guilt over everything he’s done, every decision he’s made. Did he care for his gang? He wanted desperately to believe he did, more than his parents seemed to care about him. How could he even say that about them? They were busy, they didn’t have time to be with him, they wouldn’t hold his hand he’s an adult. He knew he was on the verge of breaking.

“Do you only feel guilt now that you’re fucking one of your minions? Fucking me like every other damn person I’ve worked with. Would you even _care_ if Terasaka _died?”_

Karma simply stood there and took what he felt was what he deserved. Honestly he fooled himself into believing Terasaka could not be killed. After every fight the muscular male would act the same as always, no sign of damage much like the rest of his gang. Boy had he been wrong.

Nagisa sighed and approached in such a calm, calculated way he may as well have been invisible.

“The reason your parents result to grant you the markings of the Akabane clan is because of things like this. If you ever want to be recognised you need to change. Your only tie to the Akabane clan is your name. They do not have to give the title down to you.

“I’m going to do a perimeter check. You do not leave this house without my permission.”

As the door slammed shut the, whatever tension in the air kept Karma rooted to his spot in the room crumbled and soon enough, the breath caught in his throat threatened to choke him and he began to hyperventilate.

His body soon broke out in more violent shakes as his temperature fluctuated between boiling and freezing.

Feeling weak, dizzy, and nauseous, Karma placed his hands out front to brace himself as he slumped to the ground.

The carpet crept in and out of focus as his mind was devoid of everything except panic.

This wasn't the first time he'd had an anxiety attack and it certainly wouldn't be the last. Karma struggled to remember his breathing exercises to calm his erratic heartbeat as the tears streamed down his face into the damp pool on the carpet.

Breathing in deeply on shaking breaths, then breathing out. Continuing the rhythm over and over for what felt like eternity but was more along the lines of ten minutes as the haze slowly cleared from his eyes and his breath was less distorted.

His heart was still racing but it wasn't aching in his chest as he lowered himself to lie on the floor emotionally drained and physically exhausted.

Staring at the door he watched and waited in fear Nagisa would walk back through the door and see him lying pathetically on the floor. He couldn't handle the thought of Nagisa yelling at him again.

He truly thought he was doing okay. He'd admit to himself he wasn't doing the best he could for his gang but he really did care about them. He thought it was enough. But it wasn't.  He knew it wasn't and yet he did nothing about it. So they got hurt. Nagisa got hurt.

Karma felt his heart rate spike against and curled in on himself, squeezing his eyes shut as he desperately willed himself to keep breathing.

At some point fatigue finally claimed his body and the redhead passed out in the middle of the lounge.

 

When he awoke it took a moment to register what had happened. His body ached and he felt horrible and in desperate need of a shower. But the motivation to even stand seemed to have been sapped from his body as he weakly observed his surroundings.

Everything looked the same and Nagisa's shoes were still missing from the shoe rack.

He may not have wanted to move, but the desire to hide this weak and disappointing version of himself won out over being found so with a great deal of effort, Karma forced himself to stand and make his way up the seemingly endless flights of stairs to his room unintentionally abandoning his phone that slipped from his back pocket and locking the door before burying himself in the sheets of his bed. It had been a while since he wanted to disappear.

*  *  *

_> I didn’t mean for anyone important to get hurt._

Nagisa read over the message with a resigned huff. He was being as blind as Karma was. While mercy towards his enemies was an uncommon trait of the Asano family, like Karma, Gakushu was smitten with him and that was cause for concern.

_> Do not care for only me. Your gang received similar injuries to Karma’s. _

_> If you want to apologise, apologise to them for leading them to injury._

Gakushu did not reply after that and Nagisa was grateful. It had been a hectic week as Karma grew more and more distant. Ignoring everyone and everything. He would only eat at night when he believed Nagisa was sleeping, the one time he confronted him the redhead scampered back upstairs like a frightened mouse. Honestly it was frustrating, nothing was getting done.

He’d seen the messages piling up one after the other throughout the week on the phone Karma had so carelessly discarded on the floor. As he scrolled through them on the couch he wondered if perhaps, he’d been wrong about Karma. That there was some other factor that made Karma the way he was. Was there something he was missing?

_> Hey Karma is there a release date for the new Pokemon game yet?_

_> Yo! Karma! We all good for that Destiny raid tonight? I hear Rio wanted to join too._

_> Are we still going to out for Indian takeaways this Friday?_

_> Karma are you okay? You weren’t online last night._

_> You’re not normally quiet for this long without saying anything is everything okay?_

_> No one has seen you all week man are you okay?_

“Oi, Nagisa.” The familiar sound of Terasaka’s voice broke him from his thoughts. Ah that’s right. The gang had come around like they always did on Friday.

The night was filled with uneasy banter as everyone wondered about Karma’s condition. It hadn’t escaped his ears the few that wondered if Nagisa had gone so far as to kill him. Seemed natural that Terasaka, Karma’s right-hand man would be the first to actively confront him.

Terasaka stood with his shoulders squared and his feet apart as if bracing for a fist fight. He had far more experience with bar room brawls than verbal fights and it showed in the way he approached Nagisa. He knew from experience that there was no way he could take down the smaller male if it came to blows but his posture helped his own confidence.

"What did you do to Karma?" He asks with Itona's bluntness.

Whether or not he intends it he is boxing Nagisa in and giving him no way to escape. His eyes are steely with determination.

It was odd, Nagisa decided, how Terasaka furthered his doubt in whether confronting Karma in such a way had been the best idea. He’d met his fair share of muscular men over the years, from bodyguards, to targets of a sexual nature, despite his small size he never felt threatened by them. Yet now as Terasaka stood before him, his mind involuntarily brought back the darkest of memories of a certain military officer who’d tried to assault him in his youth before he was an assassin. It put him on edge.

Bracing himself like a wary snake he simply watched the other’s posture and eyes. Looking for any hint of malicious intent and found it would only come to pass if he struck first.

“I have not killed my client if that’s what you’re asking.” There were plenty of knives within reach in the kitchen and if it was needed, he could vault overtop the counter and retrieve the gun under his pillow. Assuming the rest of the gang didn’t attack him first.

All eyes were on them and Nagisa took a moment to pinpoint their position. They were on the couch and feigning immersion in the game on TV but he knew full well that they were waiting for some sort of signal from the larger male if things got dirty.

“He’s upstairs as he has been for the past week. He won’t talk to me and as it would seem no one else as well. He’s sulking and bitter that I scolded him for his reckless nature.” He chose his words carefully. Honesty dictated he admit he scolded him for caring so little for his gang, but recent events had planted seeds of doubt and some sixth sense told him to refrain from provoking the bear in front of him with such details as that.

Terasaka's fist slammed hard into the wall beside Nagisa's head. A small spiral of dust spills onto the assassin's shoulder.

"Don't give me that shit!" He barks. "We were just fine until you showed up!"

"So you're content with your boss _ignoring_ your injuries and sending you blindly into battle regardless of the consequences?"

If eyes could slit Nagisa's would have in that moment. A true monster of serpentine nature, he could almost feel the icy hiss of his words, and the coils of his bloodlust spilled around his throat to suffocate him without moving an inch.

"Tell me you are fine when he has to bury you because of _his_ mistakes. Would he _remember_ to bury you?"

"We take care of ourselves!" Terasaka yells back. "We don't need you babying us or worrying the boss over small shit like this. After all he's done for us we're not going to burden him with the useless stuff, he worries too much anyway."

Terasaka can tell he's going too far but he steels himself and keeps speaking.

"Who fucking asked you to swan in here and decide you know what's best for us? You don't know a thing about us, not a damn thing, and you don't know shit about the boss either if you think this is o.k."

Terasaka leans over Nagisa, intimidating him with his bulk.

"You are going to sort this shit out. _Now_. Or we're going to have a problem." He issues a leaden ultimatum. "And it may kill each and every one of us but we will. take. you. _down_."

Just like that their conversation was over and the gang moved to pack away the TV and their things before filing out the door once more leaving Nagisa to the quiet of the house.

He felt himself breathe a sigh of relief. Terasaka had declared war on him and while he had the utmost confidence in his skill, something about their dedication to their boss made him fear deep down they could overwhelm him.

With that in mind his attention turned to the redhead upstairs who despite even having visitors other than Nagisa, still refused to leave his room.

Perhaps it was time for him to confront this issue head on. For everyone's sake.

Once he was sure the other's had left the premise, he brushed the dust from his shoulder and straightened his clothes before heading upstairs.

He knocked once before asking to be let in.

From the other side of the door karma rested in a tangle of sheets. The curtains drawn closed and a mess of scrunched up paper mixed in with an assortment of clothes from his attempts to function like a regular human being.

He wanted to deny the other but found himself in the trap of being unable to say no. If he denied Nagisa would that only make him angry again? Either way his mind told him he deserved it.

"Come in." Came the forced reply as he slipped out of bed with the intention on making himself look a bit more presentable, refusing to make eye contact as the door creaked open and the assassin entered the room.

Quite frankly Nagisa was shocked by the state of the room and karma himself.

It looked like the result of a drunken teen's Friday party and he may have believed that if it weren't for the fact the two bottles of alcohol in the fridge remained untouched.

The room smelt stale as if the window hadn't been open for days. It was sunny outside yet the room was dark and karma stood in the far most corner as if trying to blend into the darkness.

Nagisa took a moment to look the male over. His clothes were crumpled likely unchanged between sleeping and waking. His hair was this with oil causing it stick to his face in what looked like an untidy version of the redhead in photos ten years younger. His nails were chewed and an assortment of red marks lined his arms and neck. Scratches that would eventually fade but for the moment they were deep and angry as if freshly made. He tried to tug his clothes to hide them but nothing could hide how obvious the ones on his neck were.

In short it was overwhelming how different the karma before him was. His posture was completely wrong and there wasn't a hint of confidence in those eyes. If he didn't know any better he'd say this was a different person entirely.

It was beginning to sink in he'd underestimated Karma's ability to bounce back like he always had after a brief scolding. Had he broken the redhead by going too far?

This was something he'd never had to deal with before. Sure he had had clients who thought themselves the worst of the world, had no energy or motivation to take care of themselves, but this was different. He didn't have to spend as much time with them as he does with Karma. He never got to see them fall to this state. He had no idea how to get karma out of it.

"This isn't the Karma I know." He almost whispers in disbelief. Karma shifted in an attempt to cover himself more.

"...but this is the _real_ Karma... the one who can't connect to anyone..." his voice was quite, timid, uncertain if itself. It filled Nagisa with a desire to hold him close. Apologise wholeheartedly for tearing him down like this. For all his apparent knowledge of his client this was something he hadn't foreseen. He had to admit karma was as good of an actor as himself.

He could only hope it wasn't too late to undo the damage he'd done. This was no longer about making peace with Terasaka, logically a weakened karma was a Karma easy to control though the final months of their contract, but instead he genuinely wanted karma back too.

"You know that's not true you have Terasaka, and Rio, and Gakushu." _and if you could forgive me, myself as well_. He finished internally.

Karma's anxiety however was unforgiving and continued to tear him down even more.

While they came from two different worlds, like Nagisa he carried the weight of his past and the scars of his battles. They weren't the kind that left marks on his skin, they were the kind that left marks on his heart and soul. The kind that faded over time but never really healed.

As Karma had influenced the physical gash in his side, Nagisa had dealt a similar blow to his heart.

The devil had broken its wings and with it his confidence and pride, an outsider with superior intellect and a taste for mischief he was an outsider forced to live among mankind.

Guess they weren't so different after all.

"I don't deserve their kindness nor am I worthy of their friendship. I'm just bothering them. Bothering you. Bothering my parents... no wonder they don't want to see me..."

Nagisa's breath caught in his throat. That wasn't the case at all. The Akabane’s physically _couldn't_ come back to see him.

"You're right Nagisa...” His tone hit that pitch he almost feared to look up at. If there was something that truly made his heart tighten it was the idea of karma crying. Not from laughter, to create an effect, or for a half-hearted apology, but the kind of self destructive 'I want to disappear.' It was not Karma at all, not the confident, easygoing, carefree karma he'd secretly been envious of. Despite his recklessness that overwhelming aura was soothing and made think you could take the world. Now it was just empty. The King slain on his throne, he was meant to _prevent_ his client from 'dying.'

Death was beginning to take on a new meaning.

"I was never doing enough for them. I think I care about them by trying to connect and talk even if my mentality can't cope with it but who am I kidding. I've only fooled myself into believing I care. No one could like a heartless monster like me. They're just being kind because I scare them..."

They were very much alike.

Terasaka was right. The gang seemed to have an understanding of karmas condition. They didn't tell him about their injuries because they didn't want him to worry more than he already did. They were a support to him as much as he was to them and he'd gone and ripped the band aid off before it even had a chance to heal.

How often did his kills leave this kind of damage? If anyone deserved the title of monster it was him.

"Well of you're a monster then I must be one too." He smiled sadly, slipping around to the side of the bed opposite karma and sitting down on the messy sheets, patting them gently in a gesture for Karma to join him. "We can be heartless monsters together."

Karma was hesitant but soon joined him and now they were close, he noticed how puffy his eyes were from crying and just how pale he'd become from growing malnutrition.

"It's never normally this long." He finally admitted after an almost comfortable silence between the two. "It normally lasts a day or two and I bounce back and no one knows and different but... when it lasts longer it terrifies me. What if it will never end? What if this time is the time I get assassinated because I don't care to get help?"

It wasn’t like the thought hadn’t crossed his mind. He’d been thinking about it since he entered the room. At some point in Karma’s confession that thought turned into an action as Nagisa struck with perfect precision. Wrapping his arms around Karma and pulling him into a tight hug.

Whether it was the right thing to do in this situation he did not know. But it gave him and odd sense of comfort to know he was doing _something_.

“I’m sorry Karma for not understanding.” Somewhere in his mind he knew the redhead wouldn’t be cured from this alone. No doubt the inner workings of his mind we’re building a list of every reason why hid apology was not genuine. But even so, the dampness of his shoulder told him that Karma wasn’t holding back although he still refused to pull him close. It seemed even now he still held onto the idea of a boundary he was not allowed to cross and it saddened him.

They stayed like that for about an hour, close but without words until fatigue caught up and Karma fell asleep in his arms. He had a slightly more peaceful look to his face, as if the slightest bit of weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

Nagisa was against laying him back on such an untidy bed, not that it was the worst bed he’s ever been on but seeing how Karma lived normally compared to this, it was unacceptable. Still, he didn’t want to wake the other so resigned his fate of letting him sleep in the tangle of sheets. He’d be sure to tidy these for him later.

What he did do however, was open the curtains halfway, crack open the window and begin to tidy the floor. The clothes while in a scattered mess were unworn and didn’t need much more than a tidy away back into the closet and draws while the paper held various degrees of written content as Karma had tried to revise his methods of his influence.

A lot could be told from the way someone wrote. The way the ink met the page. He was trying so hard to correct his error but in doing so was making himself worse by setting unachievable tasks.

With a great deal of reluctance he left Karma to sleep, the door kept open to air out the room as he searched his brain for a solution to better help the redhead.

When nothing came to mind he returned to the one person who could help him no matter what the situation. Pulling out his phone and swiping the bar with practiced hands he called his mentor. While it jumped to voicemail immediately he knew it wouldn’t be long before he would receive a call back. Just enough time to set himself up for a Skype call.

“I need your advice on something and... I want to discuss the termination of my contract.”


	7. June

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think we've all been waiting for the contents of this chapter lmao.  
> Sexy times.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the super late update! I got home from work and fell asleep immediately ;;  
> Reminder the PDF of the full story will be available for purchase when updates swap from monday updates to bimonthly updates when we reach chapter 9 of 15. Money from purchases will go towards funding a giveaway for a printed copy of the book!

“Admitting your mistakes is the first step to finding a solution.”

In the end it couldn’t have been more than 20 minutes before he got the one word text reply of ‘Skype’ and he was seated in the lounge, laptop on the table, and video calling his teacher.

He had no fear of Karma walking in on him as the younger male continued to sleep off exhaustion and fatigue, but simply seeing the other had pulled out the rug from beneath his feet. He had been faced with the reality of the illnesses Karma endured and strived to endure alone to keep himself from becoming more of a target and… worrying his companions.

Their devotion to him began to make more sense, he was well aware the redhead didn’t do well in social setting and while he could appear the extrovert, he was very much an introvert. His intelligence gave him expectations to meet while crippling what little ability to socialize on a stereotypical normal level would be. Combined with his anxiety was the loneliness and fear those closest to him would leave in much the same way he feared his parents had abandoned him causing him to lash out, pranking and causing mischief in a desperate attempt to satisfy his loneliness and remind the word that he still existed.

His achievements went unnoticed for he was always excellent, but he was remembered for the havoc he caused.

It was a wonder he didn’t put two and two together sooner but he had to admit, Karma was a brilliant actor. So much so not even his file shed light on his hidden torments.

“You and Karma are not so different, there was a time you felt like the world would forget you and you’d die alone.” Her tone was kind and motherly, despite them being memories he much preferred to forget, like Karma she managed to draw them out of him.

“I try to forget those times... My life began when you and Karasuma found and took me in.”

“That does not change the past that made you who you were when I found you.”

Irina remembers when she first met him as a starving skinny child dressed in rags filthy with mud and blood. Wartime was good to assassins like her, getting paid top dollar to take out the leaders of opposition and bring a bloody war to an end? It was practically charity work.

She had been working over a client in the ramshackle slum that passed for a town on the border and heard a noise. She'd drawn and there had been a filthy haired kid picking over her target’s belongings. She had sighed and lowered her gun, Karasuma had made her promise not to shoot any children, and told him to take care not to leave any tracks.

Much in the same way you feed an animal once, and the next day it comes back for more, the scrawny child began to follow her. Despite her barking and despite pulling the gun on the child once more, he’d been relentless, meeting her gaze without fear and continued to follow.

Opting for a quicker pace she had hoped to lose the child in the wasteland of the town as she made her way back to camp only to realize as Karasuma scolded her for bringing back a child, that Nagisa had shadowed her all the way back.

At the time however, Nagisa did not have a name. Or if he did, he never shared it with anyone. He feared in much the same way he fear every adult within the camp, sticking close to her and gripping tightly to the stolen knife.

In the end Karasuma had not only allowed the child to stay but given him the name Nagisa Shiota, likely one of many dead aliases that were bestowed upon recruits into the organization.

It had taken him a while to grow used to the name, much as it had taken time for Nagisa to accept Karasuma was not a threat to him, and while it bothered her at first, Nagisa’s insistence on mimicking had soon turned into basic training. Unbeknownst to either of them, Nagisa had become her first student.

But the camp never stayed in one place too long, and soon enough they were packing up and preparing to head out. Nagisa may have been young, but he was intelligent and knew what the implications meant.

“Honestly I’m just grateful you saw _something_ in someone like me. Enough to take me with you and away from that blood soaked place.”

Irina hadn't meant to acquire a student or a son but she had ended up with both. When she had first met him Nagisa was half-feral, numb to anything but his own survival. She knew far too well what that felt like and that without someone to reach out to them he would be trapped in that blood-stained darkness forever. He was a smart kid, talented too, and he deserved the same chances she had gotten.

Irina knew that place of darkness was something you never fully escaped. It kept a hold on your heart. You found yourself falling back into the patterns that kept you alive without someone to drag you back to reality. Her person was Karasuma and for years she had been that person for Nagisa.

Now, as much as she would have denied it, she felt like she was acquiring someone else to care about. Karma had that same sharpness to him. He hid it well but he was no match for the finely honed skills of an experienced assassin. Like Nagisa he felt isolated from the rest of the world and like her student he needed someone he could trust to ground him and bring him back to reality.

 “You and Karma aren’t that different. While you may come from very different background, you both know the feeling of fear. The feeling the world is against you. The feeling of needing someone to remind you you’re stronger than you think you are. Karma need’s a distraction. What kind of distraction you choose is up to you but he needs something and _someone_ to be there for him and distract him from the pain he is feeling so he can climb back on top of it.”

"How do I do that?" Nagisa asks, looking down and rubbing his forearm. "I’ve never done that before."

"I can't give you all the answers." Irina gives a small wistful smile. Her heart hurts that she can't help her student and son through it all. "You just have to do what feels right and it will be right."

*  *  *

 

Nagisa stared at his reflection, makeup lying pristine in its case on the bathroom bench as he attempted to justify his intentions. Make up or natural.

His teaching dictated he should tend to himself but his underlying emotions told him if he wanted to do this genuinely, he shouldn’t put anything on at all.

He’d been thinking a lot about what Bitchsensei had told him. A genuine distraction for Karma to latch on to. His solution had come to this.

Reaching over the sink to the cupboard on the wall he pulled out a bottle of lube, popping the cap and rubbing the cool liquid between his fingers to warm it up.

Having just had a shower, his hair fell in a wavy mess around his shoulders. The tips the faintest but damp after stopping the blow dryer halfway through.

Resting a hand on the edge of the sink, Nagisa took a deep breath and slipped a digit in.

Prior preparation was a habit he’d begun to use after a particular target early in his career took him dry. Bitchsensei would have gotten herself in trouble if it hadn’t been for his insistence of her not to act after she’d found out. The blonde haired woman was practically his mother and Nagisa was happy to see her as such.

Nagisa had no fear Karma would abuse his body in such a way; instead it was to cut out unnecessary time the redhead could revert to his current mental state. Nagisa wanted to distract Karma thoroughly, and in a roundabout way, apologise for being so quick to judge. Karma’s influence spread far and wide and while it didn’t always seem it on the surface, he cared about his gang mates and they cared about him. No one was scared to ask their leader for his opinion on upcoming releases, or to join them for online raids. It was something Nagisa had overlooked. Foolishly he saw Karma’s time with his games as a means to kill time and stay away from people when really, it was the place he could connect to his gang most.

A small gasp escaped Nagisa's lips as he slid in the second and third digits. Small sparks of pleasure radiating from his core while scissoring them to work his insides loose enough for Karma's cock.

Up until this point sex with his client wasn't an option, but given recent events, Nagisa found himself falling back on what he knew best. He would just have to remind himself death wasn't the endgame.   
Not that he would admit out loud, but sex with Karma was an idea he very much wanted to explore.  
Washing his fingers off and willing down his budding erection, Nagisa applied a fresh plaster to cover his stitches and got dressed.

Simple shirt and waistcoat combination with pants, a belt for decoration, and no underwear. It would take too long to get off, Nagisa told himself before packing up his untouched makeup and putting it back in the cupboard alongside the scentless lube.

To his surprise he felt a little anxious climbing the staircase to the redhead's room.

The few times he'd seen Karma since his downfall saw him either at his desk writing one word before screwing up paper and tossing it into an already overflowing bin of paper snowballs, or under the sheets shutting out the world. Nagisa silently hoped for the former. It would be easier to rein him in.

Nagisa took a hair tie from his wrist and tied his hair back in a loose ponytail before knocking on the door to announce his presence.

A faint ‘door is unlocked’ echoed from the other side as Nagisa turned the door handle and slipped inside.

Karma was slouched on his desk, the pile of paperwork no smaller than the last time he checked. For whatever reason the redhead felt it would be easier to work through potential changes to his routine by printing it out. Nagisa believed it had the opposite effect and only succeeded in overwhelming him even more.

He tried to force a smile at Nagisa as he made an attempt to fix his hair.

While it was obvious he was not okay, for whatever reason the redhead still tried to put on an act for the smaller male. Perhaps Karma felt he would claim it was for show, or that he was still angry with the redhead. The thought alone brought an ache to his chest. Karma was foolish, and reckless, but in this instance he had come to learn he’d treated the other too harshly. He wasn’t used to feeling guilt for his actions.

He wanted to make things right, he wanted the playful Karma back.

Taking note of Karma’s disorganized workspace spreading beyond the boundary of his work area to the rest of the room as he rounded the desk, the redhead’s gaze following him the entire way with that painfully false smile as he leaned back against the desk.

“I was hoping I might steal a moment of your time.”

An involuntary panic stiffened Karma’s body at the thought of slacking off from his attempt at redemption regardless of how well it had actually been going.

"I don't think I should be distracted." He admitted quietly and Nagisa pushed himself up on the others desk, scooting over until he was sitting on the documents in front of Karma, legs angled off to the side.

"But I've been so lonely without you." He admitted honestly with a playful air to his tone. Running his fingers gently through his hair, mindful of the knots from the poor attempt to maintain is while continuing. "I think a distraction is just what the doctor ordered."

"Will you kill me?" Karma asked so honestly it felt like he'd been punched in the gut. There was such vulnerability to that simple question it surfaced every reason he doubted he could ever go through with the contract proposed by Gakuho.

Adjusting his clothes, Nagisa pulled out two knives, holding them in front of Karma to see before reaching over and almost smothering Karma with his chest as he placed the weapons on the other side of the L-shaped desk.

"How do I know you don't have another?"

"You could undress me and find out." Nagisa replied before he could stop the words from slipping out. Biting his lip as he momentarily paused untying his hair as he silently cursed the slip of tongue. It wasn't like it was a bad idea.

"What did you have in mind?" Karma finally asked after an eternity of silence and Nagisa couldn't help but smile in victory.

Shuffling once more, Nagisa sat himself on Karma’s desk, blocking his view and legs spread and resting on the arms of his chair. His eyes locked onto Karma's as he trailed a hand down to his waist. Fingering over and rocking gently against the growing bulge of his pants before unfastening the buckle. Karma watched intently as blue hairs presented themselves as the zipper fell open.

An audible swallow was heard as Nagisa slid his body into Karma’s waiting lap. Guiding the taller males hands into his pants to cup his erection with a breathless, 'if feels better when you touch down here.' Rocking into Karma’s awaiting hand as he leaned back against the desk and seductively swept his hands up to undo his waistcoat and shirt.

By the time he was done, Karma was eagerly stroking and teasing his tip, sliding the precome down the length of his shaft to fondle his balls, he did this when he was ill too.

Nagisa forced himself forward to grip Karma’s shoulders and pull himself upright as he rocked and rolled his hips in a teasing rhythm against Karma’s crotch to pull him into arousal too.

It didn’t take long, which brought him an odd sense of comfort to know even in his current mental state that is was _him_ turning him on and not some stranger down at the bar.

“We should move somewhere more comfortable.” Nagisa hummed with a particularly firm roll of his hips. He could feel the Karma twitch beneath the layers of fabric as he tugged on the lobe of his ear.

“Let’s move to the bed.”

Karma barely got in a faint nod before Nagisa pulled them into standing position. Without his elevated shoes the height difference between them was even more apparent, about twenty centimetres or so, they never really checked. It was also a reminder there would only be so long he could play his seductive roles to varying clients.

Taking the time to rub his ass and crotch against the taller male as he started unbuttoning Karma’s shirt seductively to let it hang freely as he walked them over to the king sized bed. With Karma’s hands around his waist it was easy enough to manoeuvre them to the edge of the mattress.

It was the strangest feeling Karma decided, Nagisa putting so much effort into enticing him to the bed.

On a normal day the promise of such intimacy would have been filled with an almost giddy sort of nervousness, the anticipation drowning out the anxiety that maybe Nagisa didn’t want to do this with him. But today, the nervousness was at its peak, and at the back of his mind a broken record looped his fear Nagisa may be about to kill him.

The worst of it was he felt he deserved it.

If the assassin’s intentions were to pamper him up like one of his clients and strike them down at their most vulnerable when so caught up in bliss they had no will to fight back, then that was his fate.

Nagisa was so gentle as he laid Karma back against the sheets, urging him to shuffle up to the middle before following suit. Straddling his waist after slipping off his pants to continue rubbing their clothed erections together, Nagisa began undoing his shirt buttons.

Karma watched as his whole world narrowed down to Nagisa and what Nagisa was doing.

The delicate way he unbuttoned his shirt. The pleasurable rhythmic movement of their hips against each other. The faint blush of arousal on his cheeks.

Karma realised the other wasn’t wearing his usual mask of makeup whenever they got vaguely intimate. Sure there was a little bit of foundation, a bit of concealer here and there, making him look all the more softer, _cuter,_ but not in the way that he had come to refer to as Nagisa’s ulterior motive face.

At the same time he wondered if he was fooling himself into believing Nagisa may not have an ulterior motive, or that that was the entire plan to catch Karma off guard.

Willing his paralysed hands back to life as Nagisa freed his hard on and slicked it with lubricant, Karma reached out to cradle the other’s face in hand.

“Karma?” Nagisa asked curiously.

Hand falling back to the sheets, Karma’s gaze mapped out the silvery cuts that adorned his physic. Cut after cut, from his head and down his thighs, battle scars of missions gone wrong? Or something else Karma didn’t know.

Did they ache in the winter in the same way broken bones did?

He wanted to touch. He wanted to kiss. Remove all those marks that meant the male above him had been hurt in this world.

Gaze trailing further to the conveniently kept two buttons on Nagisa’s shirt. He knew what was behind those buttons.

Raising his hand once more, Karma started to unfasten them only for Nagisa to hold his hand.

“I need to see it.” Were the words that beat Nagisa to telling him no.

Reluctantly Nagisa helped him to unbutton his shirt, pushing the fabric aside and gently peeling the adhesive tape off the gauze to reveal the neat row of stitches stretching 10 or so centimetres over mostly healed, sunken skin.

Even the blind would be able to tell that this was the freshest, most recent scar. That he hadn’t been harmed in any way on the beautiful skin he could see leading up until that moment while under his care. Hurting Nagisa this way and letting his gang get hurt because he wouldn’t take the game seriously enough. He felt like the scum of the earth.

His eyes glazed over as tears accumulated in the corners of his eyes. Nagisa was quick to pat back down the plaster, leaning forward to cradle Karma’s head in his hands. Resting their foreheads together so Karma could focus only on him.

“Karma, _listen to me_.” Nagisa instructed, waiting for Karma’s eyes to open and give him his undivided attention.

“I do not _hate_ you, nor do I strictly _blame_ you for what happened. Were you being irrational and not taking things seriously? Yes you were. But you did not inflict this wound upon me. You were not the person who struck me with the blade. I _chose_ to stand between you and him. _That_ is not your fault. Okay?” 

Karma nodded slowly, tears still sliding irregularly down his cheeks. He still felt guilty and no doubt would for a long time to come. But the way Nagisa held him so tenderly, putting aside his original intentions to _care_ for Karma in this way draw out an immense feeling of warmth and happiness.

Carding his fingers gently through Karma’s in the most soothing of motions, calming the hitched breaths of the male beneath him. Karma was quite beautiful when he wasn’t wearing a mask. His eyes were all the brighter with the thin film of water over his eyes, his well defined jawline and noticeably sharp canines poking under perfect lips as he quietly gasped; perhaps a result of his low jaw being set ever so slightly back refusing wear.

“If you’re worried about my future,” Nagisa found himself speaking before he could stop them, nor the darker blush of his cheeks. “Then you better _woo_ me with all you can, so I won’t have to leave you when our contract is over.”

He had to bite his tongue and refrain from breaking eye contact as Karma’s eyes widened in shock.

They sat like that for a while, Nagisa wishing the floor to swallow him whole and Karma gazing longingly into Nagisa’s being wishing the moment to last forever.

With a small cough Nagisa attempted to change the topic.

“Um, Karma. I’m still pretty riled up. Do you want to have sex with me?” He questioned trying to keep the nervousness out of his voice. Why was it so hard to be around Karma? Why did he provoke this sort of unguarded reaction from him?

“Only if _you_ want to have sex with me.” Karma replied quietly.

“I want you to feel better,” Nagisa chuckled, pulling back to seat himself back in Karma’s lap, a coy smile upon his face as he once more reached for the discarded lube bottle. “But I also want to have sex with you.”

“Please do.” Karma all but whispered as Nagisa slicked him up and drew him back to full hardness.

Given the redhead’s reactions, Nagisa concluded it truly was a case of Karma just not understanding things below his perch. Terasaka and his gang were stubborn and likely never told their boss they’d been injured in fights. Naturally Karma would have assumed they were fine. Fight after fight brought on the belief they were unkillable.

The reality of which brought on a wave of guilt from both parties. Karma didn’t realise how dirty the fighting actually was, and Nagisa got caught in the belief Karma cared little for his gang.

Both of them were wrong, and Nagisa wished to make amends and help his boss forward.

“Y-you know, I’ve thought about you a lot.” Karma’s voice was strained has he watched the other swiftly finger and stretch himself to ensure his earlier preparations were up to par.

Of course he knew Karma had thought about him. He’d known that since day one.

“I’ve thought about-- _Aah!_ ” Karma’s hips bucked unintentionally as Nagisa’s ass swallowed his length.

Once more he was reminded how few times he had been on the receiving end of intimacy. In times like this he tended to indulge in such fun, but with Nagisa, he felt so hypersensitive to what was happening. What Nagisa was _doing._

“About how it would look with your mouth wrapped around me.”

The sharp needy gasp that fell from Nagisa’s lips encouraged him on, rocking his hips up into Nagisa’s frame as he seated himself all the way. If his anxiety was right, and Nagisa intended to kill him, he hoped maybe they could both enjoy this moment.

“Or how you’d sound when you were hard and throbbing. Would it sound anything like your croaky moans when you were ill?”

Nagisa shot him the briefest glare at the mention of his fever. It was one of those silent pacts to never mention it again yet here he was bringing it up and the confusing feeling of Karma finally touching him washed back to the shore of his mind.

He had started a slow pace now. Dragging his body up and down Karma’s length as he fought against the redhead’s rhythmic two shallow, one deep repetitive thrusts trying to brush against his prostate.

“I’ve thought about you sitting in my lap,” He continued, shoulders shaking as he grasped the sheets beneath his fingers, trying to ground himself and continue talking in an increasingly raspy voice.

“And fingering you until you came in my hand.” Karma’s breath caught in a needy moan as Nagisa’s walls tightened around him. The smaller boy throwing his head back in a satisfied whine as Karma struck his prostate, careful to lure Karma into abusing that same blissful spot inside him over and over as he quickened their pace.

“I’ve gotten myself-- _Ngh!_ Off, over and over, thinking about what it would feel like inside you.” His voice was shaky and his chest heaving as he gulped down mouthfuls of air. Nagisa was watching him with those piercing blue eyes that made him feel more vulnerable than he ever did naked.

“Over and over.” Karma attempted to repeat, letting out an embarrassing mewl while Nagisa’s hands snaked around to flick his nipples.

“Filling you up.” Voice cracking like a pubescent teen, Nagisa rolling his hardened nubs between his thumbs and forefingers.

“Clenching-- _Aah!_ ” His voice broke off as he bit down harshly into his hand. His back arching clean off the sheets with each and every thrust, his personal rhythm long since out of synch with Nagisa as he simply met Nagisa’s descents, body practically _begging_ for more of that delicious heat and friction.

Nagisa’s hands withdrew to better brace himself against Karma’s thighs as he drew himself out to Karma’s tip before driving Karma’s cock into him with long, deep thrusts. He could feel his insides becoming slicker with the precome that beaded from Karma’s tip. The writhing redhead below him a picture of perfection wearing a blush that matched his hair, clouded and glazed over eyes, and finished with a string of saliva dripping from that needy mouth behind a clenched fist.

‘Fuck he’s attractive.’ Was the only thought that manifested from the sight.

But before the chilling realization could grasp his mind, Karma’s hips jerked hard, and with a low strangled groan of Nagisa’s name he came, filling Nagisa to the brim before he too let out a broken moan and released onto the redhead’s chest.

Tremors of pleasure continued to wrack their bodies as Karma fell limp against the sheets. Saliva dribbling down his chin as he watched on with unfocused eyes to the male still seated above him.

For Nagisa the moment of bliss was interrupted by a suffocating feeling of guilt. He'd been taught to be wary of his attachments and never get attached to a client least the assassination become something you are unable to go through with. While he had no intention of killing the redhead, instinct won out and his hand noticeably twitched, wanting to grab the closest weapon to end the other's life.

This is what he was feared would happen should he ever find himself in bed with his client. Giving Karma the wrong message on their relationship status meant nothing if he couldn't suppress his lust to kill.

His struggle must have been evident because in the next moment, Karma's arms were wrapping around his neck and pulling him down into the most genuine of kisses. A sweet and loving gesture, Nagisa found himself powerless and melting into.

He took care not to bite the redhead’s already painfully swollen bottom lip as he sought entrance, slipping his tongue in to deepen the kiss until all traces of bloodlust ebbed away.

"Sorry." Karma whispered when they finally pulled back for air. His arms slipping back onto the bed remembering the rule not to touch.

Sex seemed to be on the list of permissions but still not his unrelenting desire to pull the smaller male closer. He wondered if Nagisa would ever let him, or anyone, that close.

Kisses were normally initiated by Nagisa too. Perhaps Karma felt he was being too needy and didn't want to abuse his privilege. In honesty Nagisa sort of wished they'd kiss more. It was nice to kiss someone without an ulterior motive. It had to be Karma though. It didn't feel the same with anyone else.

"Please stay?" Karma roused him from his thoughts as he made to clean up their mess, he'd take a shower later, once Karma fell asleep.

"I'll stay until you fall sleep." He answered, wiggling himself under the blankets with an invisible barrier separating the two.

Karma's desire to be closer stuck out like a sore thumb but true to his word, he respected Nagisa's rule and stayed on his side of the line, simply staring at the assassin in awe and care.

Genuine Karma made him blush so easily.

When Karma had taken an interest in him he expected him to be like every other client only worshipping him as some figure to flaunt or a toy to satisfy themselves with. But Karma, Karma looked at him like he was his entire world.  Admired his strengths, accepted his flaws, in his own way he was showing Nagisa what it was like to be human, to be foolish. Like an addictive drug, he found himself falling accustomed to this way of life more and more, it was becoming a very real fear he might fall for this way entirely.

He couldn’t even put the emotions down to deprivation. There was nothing stopping him from going down to the bar and hitting someone up, or even from accepting one of the countless offers at the Charity event. Nothing in his contract stated he had to play along with Karma’s games. He was simply hired to act as his bodyguard and prevent his client from being killed.

But the thought never crossed his mind. But he’d been playing the role of Karma’s partner for so long he could only conclude he had fooled himself into believing it.

He'd have to be more careful not to get so attached to this life, or Karma, if he intended to complete his contract and satisfy his senseis’ before moving on to the next.

Still the idea of liking someone gave him an odd kind of thrill even if the invisible barrier between them denied them anything more than kissing and intimacy. Karma’s eyes ran over his face and his fingers twitched again as he fought back the desire to hold Nagisa close.

Karma was so different when they were alone. He found himself both admiring and hating how respective of this one rule the redhead was. Clients in the past may have respected his boundaries to a degree, but almost always looked for a loophole to exploit him. Karma wasn’t like that. When they were playing their roles they played their roles, and out of character Karma never acted without Nagisa’s permission first. This had made it particularly frustrating when he’d fallen ill. He wished Karma would have taken him there and then, but he didn’t. He asked multiple times if he was really okay with their level of intimacy. The world around them seemed to fade away with the underlying emotions were simple, he wanted sex with the redhead.

In the end he was grateful Karma’s exhaustion meant he was soon sleeping like a log, unable to keep his eyes on Nagisa any longer, swollen lips parted slightly as he faintly snored. He looked much more relaxed than his previous nights of tossing and turning and restless sleep plastered across his face.

As Karma soon dozed off, he found his gaze lingering on Karma's sleeping form. Closer inspection found Karma’s hand loosely entangled with his own. Not strong enough to keep him in place, but enough to let the smaller male know the intention was clear.

Pulling away and tucking the redhead in, Nagisa tidied their clothes and slipped his back on. If they continued like this, how hard would it be to leave Karma behind? Would his next bodyguard last the month? Would they understand the inner workings of Karma's complex mind? Would they be able to protect him if he was targeted, by an assassin?

The thought alone sent an unpleasant shiver down his spine. He needed to cut off this tumor of an attachment before it was too late. He’d given Karma the physical part of himself, but the redhead was still not satisfied. He craved the emotional part of him too, and that was something he vowed never to give anyone.

Even so he found himself leaning over Karma's sleeping form to place a delicate kiss to his temple.

"Goodnight, Karma. Hope you feel better in the morning."

*  *  *

Karma woke with his face still buried in the sheets that still lingered ever so faintly with the scent of Nagisa. While it didn't substitute for the real thing it still provided some sense of comfort to the redhead who had finally gotten a better night sleep.

His body was still plagued with fatigue and ached from the events of the night, but he couldn't deny he was feeling a little bit better. In fact he felt well enough to drag himself out of bed, which was a miracle in itself, and add getting dressed into suitable casual clothes to his morning routine. It still took him a good half hour to figure out what to wear before he was vaguely satisfied with his presentation.

The next attempt was to try and make his bed. That plan fell through and he opted to tug the covers up and hide the mess beneath. The surface looked tidy however and that’s all that mattered, it made him feel better, he’d take his victories where he could.

Once more he forgot breakfast but it wasn’t like he cared much to eat, he probably hadn’t had breakfast in the past week and a half, it was hard to tell, the days kind of just blurred together without beginning or end.

Still he wanted to be a bit more productive. With a clearer head he printed off the documents he wished to revise and discovered the pile was significantly smaller than he had come to believe. He wanted to hold on to glimmer of motivation and try sort through this mess. He didn’t want to tackle this alone, surely he would become overwhelmed but at the same time he did not wish to bother Nagisa… perhaps he could sit on the couch and Nagisa may wish to join him.

With that thought in mind he took some refill and headed downstairs. Much to his delight Nagisa was at his side within minutes.

“How are you feeling?”

Karma simply shrugged, he wasn’t quite up to making conversation as much as he hoped he would be, he felt a little guilty about that. “Better.”

The short response stung a little but he understood what Karma was going through, he simply disassociated while Karma fell into periods of crippling depression and needed significantly longer than himself to recover. Nagisa was patient however. He could wait for Karma, learn how to talk to the redhead and support him in these times of hardship.

“May I help you?” He continued, reaching over to pick up the start of Karma’s notes as he pulled himself more fully onto the couch, leaning on the redhead in what he hoped would be a calming gesture. “We can do more if we work together.”

He really wanted to kiss him. Nagisa was just too perfect that even his depression couldn’t suppress his emotions completely. It made the strain of working much less depressing.

Karma was grateful too that by the time they'd finished working through the mountain of paperwork to review and proposes changes to make his command not only more efficient, but more considerate to his gang mates without making them feel like he's suddenly pussyfooting around them, Nagisa was still sitting on the couch beside him.

It was a difficult job balancing the changes with the atmosphere already in place, someone like Terasaka would find that insulting to his pride if the redhead suddenly refrained from sending them on errands and gang fights because he suddenly felt bad about throwing them like lemmings to their fate.

As he placed the last of the paperwork on the table Karma let out an exhausted sighed as he melted back into the sofa before glancing over in Nagisa's direction.

He'd made a deal with himself for extra motivation that if Nagisa was still there he'd get up the courage to be the instigator of a kiss.

While apprehensive at first and fighting against his anxieties Nagisa wouldn't want to or turn him down, Karma soon found himself leaning in to steal a kiss.

Nagisa simply gave him a warm smile before allowing the other his reward and let himself carefully be pulled closer as Karma gained confidence in the kiss.

He took care not to dominate the kiss. Holding back and letting the redhead manage the pace.

The kiss itself was unlike the others they’d shared. It lacked Karma’s usual need and playfulness. If Nagisa had to name it, it would be hesitant. Karma was taking it almost uncomfortably slow to the point the smaller male thought he’d pull back and apologise. It was an uneasy thought coming from the usually confident male.

Nagisa could feel the way Karma trembled beside him as their lips met again. He told himself he would let Karma have this kiss but something about it just wasn’t right.

He pulled back to watch the anxious look in Karma’s eyes before shifting his position onto the sofa fully, leg either side of the redhead as he tugged at his collar with both hands and pulled Karma back into a kiss, this time with him in charge.

Karma seemed to respond better to this, more eagerly as Nagisa lowered them back against the cushions, noting the way Karma’s hands almost jumped to hold him tightly only to pull back at the last moment presumably remembering their arrangement.

Nagisa was beginning to loathe it.

If Karma wanted to touch him he should just do it.

Nagisa focused instead on Karma’s expression, careful not to press too hard to bite at the other’s lips, reminding himself there was no need to leave the other breathless. Karma initiated the kiss and the tone he set was a gentle one.

But as tears began to collect at the corners of his eyes, Nagisa pulled himself back, worrying he’d done something wrong to trigger the other again.

“Karma, why are you crying?”

“I’m not crying.” Karma adamantly declined, forcing his arms to remain at his side despite the desperate desire to pull the other back in close. He was fighting his inner demons, the desire to be close to Nagisa, with the paranoia that Rio was right, and Nagisa was only allowing this because he wouldn’t outright deny his employer.

“You’re worse at lying than usual.” Nagisa gave a half-hearted chuckle before lowering himself on top of the redhead. His arms encasing his head so he couldn’t hide away entirely. Fingers toying with the little tuffs of hair at the top of his head.

“You don’t have to tell me, but I did treat you harshly before, I don’t want to make the same mistake again.”

Karma sat in silence for a moment, letting the tears simmer as he relaxed and leaned into Nagisa’s touch. But at the same time, it only added to his growing guilt.

The other was almost certain they’d spend the next half hour like this until the redhead spoke in a quiet voice.

“I’m not forcing you to do this am I? Are you only indulging me because it’s the only way to control me?” Then quieter still. “Am I really that bad of a person I can’t connect to anyone normally?”

Nagisa’s eyes widen for a moment as the words sunk in. Against he will he couldn’t stop the genuine laugh that escaped his lips.

“Who would have guessed,” Nagisa hummed, gently running his fingers through his short red hair, brushing it to the side to better see the teary eyed Karma’s shy expression past his long fringe.

“That the big bad Karma was such a softie.”

Karma made an offended, almost kitten like noise, in protest. He was trying to be serious.

Nagisa must have noticed his rising paranoia as a slightly snarky reply fell from his lips and placing a gentle kiss to the corner of Karma’s.

“Haven’t you learned by now you can’t force me to do anything I don’t want to do?”

Karma let out a small relieved sigh. Nagisa wouldn’t lie to him. Nagisa was honest and unafraid. Nagisa was a kind of stability Karma wish he had in his life.

The duo picked up where they left off. Nagisa kissing away the drying tears at the corner of the redhead’s eyes before leaning back close, connecting their lips once more.

At some point in time their kissing had turned to sleeping.

Nagisa lay half on top, half wedged between the sofa back and Karma’s side as they took an early afternoon nap.

Naturally Karma had fallen asleep first and Nagisa soon after, after a rather adorably pathetic plead for him to stay a little longer. Nagisa too was the first wake. Eyes blinking against the midday summer sun streaming through the window.

It appeared even with another body, Nagisa fell into his old habit of clinging in his sleep. His arms wrapped tightly around Karma’s waist as the redhead lay in an uncomfortable looking position, body facing away and hands beside his head in an obvious attempt to refrain from any unconscious desire to cuddle.

Nagisa felt the guilt tug at his chest as he carefully buried his face against Karma’s chest, taking in the prominent scent of peppermint. It was a soothing smell that had begun to feel almost homely to him.

As he began to drift back off and his leg fumbled for a moment to wrap around one of Karma’s, a sharp stab at the back of his mind froze him in place, eyes wide, and a cold chill running down his spine.

What am I doing?

The thought tore though his mind like the unwanted return of a repressed memory. Panic started to set in. This was not what he was trained to do. He was trained to seduce and kill. He was hired to prevent a reckless Karma from getting himself killed. He wasn’t here to make friends. He wasn’t here to fall in love with Karma. He wasn’t capable of seeing someone in that way. He needed to stay detached to keep his professionalism in check.

Wait... love?

Nagisa looked up at the other’s peaceful form. The slow rise and fall of his chest. The vulnerable look he shared with no one but him.

Did he love Karma?

Surely his flirting had rubbed off on the smaller male. The time spent together gradually breaking down the walls he so carefully put up to keep others out. He’d let his guard down and Karma took advantage of it. He didn’t love Karma. He simply cared about his wellbeing. Karma was a friend and nothing more. He enjoyed their contact because he was so deprived of it. This was a test by his sensei’s he simply had to pass it and everything would be fine. Everything would return to normal.

That was the reason he felt like this wasn’t it?

Then why did he want to protect Karma not just from the evil of this world, but the relationships he tried to open himself to only to have it end a mere week later. Why did he tolerate the short skirts and the playful flirts if it was only to indulge Karma’s need for attention? The bar was just down the road but why did he hate the idea of someone else in Karma’s bed?

“I’m not in love.”

Nagisa has to force himself to say. It didn’t feel real the words spoken in his mind.

Taking a deep breath to calm his trembling body and nerves, the smaller male carefully untangled himself from his unprofessional behaviour.

Watching to make sure the redhead didn’t wake before climbing over the back of the sofa.

He needed to cool his head. Perhaps a cold shower would calm his thoughts.

Nagisa crossed the distance to the hallway in record time, pausing at the door, contemplating one more look at Karma’s sleeping form. Would he even see him behind the edge of the sofa? Would he be sad to wake with no one beside him? Did he expect it? Did he wish Nagisa would be there like he wished Karma would be beside him?

Despite having slept remarkably well Nagisa felt more tired than ever.

What was Karma doing to him? Why couldn’t he understand these emotions bubbling in his chest?

...was this how Akari felt?

He’d need to call Bitchsensei after this.


	8. July

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Out of the frying pan and into the oven. They're trying guys I swear.  
> 

Irina Jelavić was less than surprised by the recent influx of calls and messages from her student. Nagisa and herself had a deep rooted relationship that extended more than any other student that had come into her care and it wasn’t just because of his past. Nagisa was her successor and, as far as adoption papers were concerned, her son.

Needless to say the two spent a lot of time around each other particularly before and after missions. Prepping him for work, and tending to his care when he got back.

Out of everyone in the facility, Irina was the one he connected to most, one of the only people he could talk to so freely. It was funny, looking back on it, Irina was never really fond of kids but now here she was with a son and an entire classroom of students.

It had surprised her husband, Karasuma, to no end how much the blonde hit woman had grown to care for someone other than herself.

As the years went by her attachment to Nagisa had only grown and it had come to pain her seeing the smaller male so disjointed from society. Even within the organization, Nagisa was still alone. While he had a best friend and a close friend too, he never really connected to any of the other students. He’d play games with them and study, but Irina felt he was still _lacking_ something important. He couldn’t confide in any of them like he did with her. She wanted him to trust people again.

Korosensei had noticed this to and so they had come to an agreement to try and integrate the young assassin back into society. It had been a work in progress, a wait for going on two years to find a compatible individual to set him up with.

What was more surprising however was not that the assignment was proving successful, but so successful in the sense Nagisa was showing signs of attachment to Karma Akabane that exceeded that of simple friendship.

It made her worried in the way any mother would be when her child brings home their boyfriend for the first time and while Nagisa didn’t realize he was at that stage already, the emotions inside her demanded to investigate herself to see if the redhead was worthy of her son’s affections if he ever grew to acknowledge them.

Naturally she was ecstatic when Nagisa shyly admitted he’s been unintentionally avoiding Karma because of his conflicting emotions but had already agreed to let him take him out for his birthday. Long story short he had wanted her to be there for moral support if his emotions got the better of him or anything else happened.

‘There’s a piano there, we can change the band to you instead.’

Nagisa always did like her music. Especially the piano. Among the many things she’d taught the smaller boy, piano was one of them. It was easy enough to draw the eye of the crowd to an instrument that was almost always present at fancy hotels and restaurants.

They’d play together, collaborating songs together and entertaining friends and foes alike. It brought him a sense a peace. A feeling of home.

Irina accepted without a second thought, modifying her existing plans and out to shop for the perfect dress.

*  *  *

The restaurant itself was on the bottom floor of a five star super deluxe hotel. The lobby housing stairs either side of the room trailing magnificently up to the roomed floors. Despite its brilliance, the building itself was relatively small, housing just 20 rooms and 20 tables. It was another one of the neutral zones commonly used for meetings between clans local or otherwise and like the sushi restaurant Karma had taken Nagisa several times earlier in the year, the menus were priceless as was the accommodation. If you needed to ask a price you weren't rich enough to be there.

Karma had booked out the hotel to his gang and anyone Nagisa wished to be there, as it was Irina had her own room on the third floor and that's exactly where her destination set. She'd given Nagisa the key to her room, not that the smaller boy would ever need it of he truly wanted behind the door, in case something like this happened.

Naturally Karma arranged it so himself and Nagisa were to sit in the grandest centermost table to which had a perfect view of the stage and whoever was performing. The restaurant itself wasn’t particularly large, but what it lacked in size it made up for in grandeur and much like the sushi place, the food had no pricing. If you had to ask the price you weren’t rich enough to be here.

Terasaka’s gang was here too, a ways back from the middle table but scattered around the edges. Despite how many smaller gangs and companies Karma had under his thumb he’d almost always choose them. ‘They can put up with my crap and dish it just as well’ had been his reasoning. Seeing as Terasaka was one of the few the redhead could actually confide in it made perfect sense.

There was no band playing today however. Due to _unforeseen_ circumstances the band that was supposed to have played for them had been delayed by traffic. Nagisa’s proposal to bring in his teacher to play instead had been met with a slight amount of apprehension from the gang but for Karma, it was a chance to meet the person that knew the assassin best and he had many questions.

Irina had arrive long before them, testing the piano and ensuring it was in key before Nagisa called her over and introduced the two.

She was a picture of beauty there was no denying that. Long flowing blonde hair swept back to show off the front of her red dress pulled in at the sides to accentuate her breasts. It reminded him of the time Nagisa had tried to coax him into returning his smokes. Despite his lack of boobs the two gave off a similar feel now that he thought about it. If he didn’t know any better he’d assume they _were_ related.

“Nagisa’s told me a lot about you.” She greeted with an extended hand for Karma to take with a playful smile.

“Only good things I hope.” He could feel her gaze assessing him from top to toe, leaving not point untouched. It was nerve-wracking to say the least. He’d never had to deal with the critical eye of his parents looking over any potential partner he’d brought home and the gang well, Karma had a motto of doing what he wanted. But this was new. In a way he felt like _he_ was the partner being brought home for the first time.

He wanted Irina to think him worthy of her student and son.

“I’ll leave you two to get better acquainted, I’m going to check on the chiefs and do a final perimeter check.” Nagisa interjected coolly and Irina’s expression softened.

“Don’t take too long, you’re who this evening is for remember.” Nagisa nodded before leaving for the kitchen while Irina gestured for Karma to follow her to the bar.

The atmosphere seemed to change and Karma felt for a moment that this was going to become an interrogation. No doubt she knew about his halfhearted threatening to cut off his manhood, pushing him down in the rain, dressing him in feminine clothes, _endangering_ him to the point he’s now _scarred_ for life. It made his throat run dry.

“While I want to see what kind of person, I’m not going to interrogate you if that’s what you think. I imagine you have questions about Nagisa?”

Karma’s muscles relaxed a little but he remained on guard.

“There are many questions. I want to know everything about him. But there’s one in particular he won’t answer I wonder if you could.”

This was exactly what she wanted. She’d already gotten a read from the male’s body language all that was left was to determine what was on the forefront of his mind. She knew of the hardships the male had put Nagisa through but also that for the most part, the initial mishaps were a means to scare him off while the others were the actions of a child learning to be a man.

It was obvious Karma had an attraction to Nagisa, it was something she’d taught the smaller male to embrace and take full advantage to further his line of work and many of his clients and targets fell all too willingly to his charms. But Karma held promise. Even before they were assigned Korosensei believed they would be a suitable match for each other. While he didn’t specify the details of ‘suitable’ their personalities were complete opposites. They were what other needed in life. The hope was their personalities would clash and eventually settle at a midpoint between to allow growth of both parties and for the most part, it seemed to be working.

But with this growth came extra complications. Nagisa for one was experiencing an influx of emotions he had never had to deal with before and if it were to work out, Karma would need patience and to allow Nagisa the space to truly discover who he was.

His unstable emotions were what brought her here now. Was Karma going to ask why Nagisa was ignoring him? Or was he still thinking with his dick as many males who crushed on Nagisa did?

Karma took a breath and spoke softly.

“Nagisa would deny it but… I’ve seen the way he’s tortured at night by the memories of his childhood. The war. His…mother. The soldier. I hear him moan. See the way he clings to his pillow as if it were a lifeline and I just… I feel powerless.” He admitted staring at his hands as if he were unsure of how to use them. “What can I do to help him?”

The question was far from what Irina had expected even in the best case scenario. A question about Nagisa’s sex life would have concluded Karma simply wanted the smaller for his body. A question about Nagisa’s preferences would have concluded the two still had trouble talking to each other even on the most basic of terms. A question about Nagisa’s past would have implied he was much too impatient with allowing Nagisa the time to grow comfortable to talk to him. But a question like this? She knew full well Nagisa suffered at night and while he was blessed with forgetting the dreams by morning, it still took a toll on his body.

Karma wanted to know how to ease Nagisa from a pain he himself couldn’t answer.

The redhead had come a long way since the rebellious boy he’d been at the beginning of the year. She was more than happy to provide him with an answer.

“It’s as simple as playing with his hair.” She said simply and Karma met her gaze with confusion.

“Run your fingers through his hair, gently massage his scalp, and tell him it’s going to be okay. It’ll break him out of the nightmare and remind him it isn’t reality.”

“I don’t want to startle him or make it worse.” Karma chuckled nervously. This was a professional assassin they were talking about, someone who had already demonstrated how easily he could overpower home even in a weakened ill state. “Besides, touching Nagisa would be…. Wrong.”

“Wrong?” Irina questioned hoping to poke deeper into the rest of their relationship.

“I haven’t gained Nagisa’s trust enough to allow touching.”

Ah, so Nagisa had implemented his rule here too, a self-imposed defense mechanism to keep himself from caring too much. The exact rule they were hoping to break him out of.

“I mean, we kiss and have sex, but it’s not the same without being allowed to cuddle. It’s kinda lonely sharing a bed with him then waking in the morning to emptiness.” He knew he was rambling, but there was an odd sense of comfort talking to Irina. Perhaps cause she knew Nagisa best and he sought some kind of reassurance or closure as to whether he truly had a chance at convincing Nagisa to stay. He trusted she’d be honest enough to tell him if he was fighting a losing battle.

Irina was quiet for a moment.

“What do you hope to gain from a relationship with Nagisa? Assume for a moment the contract didn’t exist and Nagisa was free to date whoever he wanted. Would you get jealous if he continued his work as an assassin? Seducing his targets into bed, maybe even having sex with them, before killing them.”

“I’d offer to take him on as a bodyguard or organize a partnership. If he wished to continue being an assassin…” Irina watched the torment dance across his expression for a brief moment before pushing it back down. It was a question Karma appeared to have thought about a great deal, given his little stunt at the Charity event, at least he wasn’t denying his jealousy of another with Nagisa.

His eyes however, seemed to gloss over with renewed confidence, he didn’t like these word games where he didn’t feel in control with strangers or foes. “Irina, I don’t care much about who Nagisa is having sex with or whether or not it is for work. I want Nagisa’s love, not his body. If he were to remain an assassin I would simply ask that he’d come home alive.”

“Home huh.” The smile that spread across her face was almost Cheshire-like. It was hard to hold back a blush as he tried to maintain his sense of confidence.

“Well, yeah. We live in the same house. We both call it home.”

“How cute.” Irina chuckled, shifting the conversation topic before he had a chance to ask what was cute. “Ah, Nagisa, you’re back.” She smiled sweetly as the smaller male came to join them.

“I hope Karma didn’t give you too much grief.” His tone was playful and Karma found himself falling in love all over again.

“Irina was just telling me all of your kinky escapades, I’m wounded you’ve been holding out on me.” He teased, tongue out and all as Nagisa gave a small sigh. Irina can’t have revealed that Karma would have popped a boner by now just thinking about it.

“Charming personality as always.”

“Faults and all I think we made a pretty good choice putting you two together. Your parents will be pleased to hear the state of your progress. But don’t let me take up any more of your time, you have a dinner to attend to. It was a pleasure meeting you, Karma.”

“Likewise. I shall keep your suggestion in mind. Oh, but before we go.” He leaned over to ask one more question just out of earshot of the smaller male who looked on with a hint of worry at the sinister grin, and the blushing face of Karma.

It was going to be a long night.

*  *  *

As it turned out Karma had asked for tips on how to flirt with him which, tragically, led to more cases of secondhand embarrassment than he could count on his fingers.

Occasionally however, it was funny, and distracted him from the fear of actually being attracted to Karma as well as adding to that fear. The fact they were all techniques that took months, sometimes _years_ to master made his attempts even more painful to watch. It was like watching a younger version of himself as Irina had tried the mentor him the first time.

She’s probably ‘taught’ him these specific gestures knowing they were far too advanced for someone of his caliber. Heck it even took him a decent while to learn them and that was even with the basics down pat. She was probably doing this for her own amusement.

Watch the way Karma blindly accepted her ‘help’ and get a kick out of the way he made a fool of himself in front of everyone who dared to look away from their plate. Not just from a bodyguard’s point of view but as a… friend as well, it left a bitter taste in his mouth seeing Karma being manipulated in such a way.

The worst part was Karma was making a genuine effort to think these through before trying to slip one into the conversation. He’d have to scold his teacher after this was over.

Still, it began to feel like he was having dinner with _Irina_ instead of Karma which confused him even more. As of late his emotions had begun to summersault and backflip in ways he never knew the human body, let alone _he,_ was capable of.

Quite frankly the surge of emotions scared him.

They were becoming harder and harder to ignore. It wasn’t like he _didn’t_ want someone to call his own. Someone his age that served as a pillar for his growth. Someone who cared about him the way Korosensei cared his students, the orphans. The way Karasuma loved Irina…

Many of his classmates had had a partner or two, some even had relationships that felt they’d last a lifetime. He wanted that too.

But Karma was his client. He was an assassin assigned to be a bodyguard. He was supposed to protect his client from harm and he couldn’t do that efficiently from between his legs, or from letting his emotions cloud his judgment.

Perhaps he grew too embarrassed or realized the tricks weren’t necessarily working but by the time desert came around they’d reached a point of peaceful silence. Simply enjoying each other’s company as they were poured another glass of wine. Compared to Nagisa who’d barely touched the alcohol all night, this was Karma’s third glass, the sweet concoction would be getting to him soon and his cheeks were already beginning to flush. He’ll be more honest with himself and his feelings soon. Nagisa didn’t know if he could handle that tonight.

Karma looked into the glass of wine swirling gently with the motion of his hand as a small smile tugged his lips.

"Honestly, I was afraid you wouldn't come tonight.”

Nagisa suppressed the urge to lick his lips as his throat went dry. Of course Karma would have noticed the way he had been keeping their conversations to the utmost minimum and dedicated almost all of his energy towards unnecessarily long perimeter checks and scopes. It would have been obvious to the male who watched him so endearingly that he was avoiding him.

His emotions lapped like storm water against the dam in his mind. The desire to tell Karma he needed space overrun by his fear to wear his heart on his sleeve.

He’d been taught emotions could mean the difference between life and death, and before he knew it his training kicked in, his fight of flight response kicking into high gear and telling him to run. Regroup and tackle the issue later.

Blue eyes turned noticeably dull and distant as Nagisa rose from his chair and made to leave.

"Nagisa, wait!" Karma all but cried out as he lunged for Nagisa's own hand. Taking it in a vice like grip, desperate to hold on in some way least he let go and lose the other forever.

Gold eyes glazed over as tears as felt inevitable as the strangle words that passed his lips. Nagisa had ignored him for majority of the month without explanation. Denying days off and anything that would leave him in Karma’s company longer than necessary for his job. It was ruining him from the inside out. They'd finally been making progress after his wake up call to the gang and formal apology but now they were back to square one. Had some part of him disgusted Nagisa? The thought of Nagisa despising him for one reason of another left a gaping hole in his chest. He was by no means the best, but even past partners had never been this cold towards him. Not even the girl that disapproved of the time he interrogated a spy by shoving mustard and wasabi up their nose.

The thought alone made the first stubborn tear slide down his cheek. The world around them dissolving to him, and Nagisa.

"I'm sorry if I did something wrong. If I've done something wrong or offended you in some way please just tell me. Yell at me if it makes you feel better, if it gets something through my thick skull, just please Nagisa, I can't handle you ignoring me like this!"

The gang watched on in shock and the soothing tune of the piano had long since ceased its tune before the room was plunged into a heavy silence.

Nagisa refused to make eye contact. Still standing froze in place, his eyes covered by the fringe of his hair. Karma soon found his hand trembling as defeat and anxiety weakened his grip on the other.

Slipping his hand out with ease, Nagisa spared not a single moment as he exited the dining hall and into the lobby.

Karmas hand remained raised only for a moment as the sound of doors closing crushed any shred of hope Nagisa would talk to him again.

Wiping his mouth with a napkin before forcing himself to respectfully thank and bow to Irina and the waitress for their time and to apologise for his behaviour before making an unsteady b-line towards the bar to try drown out the aching emptiness in his heart.

Irina took a moment to watch as her student's client ordered the first bottle of alcohol, pouring himself a small glass before staring absently into it as if pondering the mysteries of the universe before taking the first tentative swig. When the Akabane child's response was to drink she half assumed the boy not much younger than Nagisa would down the first glass without a second thought. Silently ticking the box of an internal checklist the beautiful blonde took up her glass from the piano top before making her way down to the lobby.

The restaurant itself was on the bottom floor of a five star super deluxe hotel. The lobby housing stairs either side of the room trailing magnificently up to the roomed floors. Despite its brilliance, the building itself was relatively small, housing just 20 rooms and 20 tables. It was another one of the neutral zones commonly used for meetings between clans local or otherwise and like the sushi restaurant Karma had taken Nagisa several times earlier in the year, the menus were priceless as was the accommodation. If you needed to ask a price you weren't rich enough to be there.

Karma had booked out the hotel to his gang and anyone Nagisa wished to be there, as it was Irina had her own room on the third floor and that's exactly where her destination set. She'd given Nagisa the key to her room, not that the smaller boy would ever need it of he truly wanted behind the door, in case something like this happened.

The blue haired male had become increasingly uneasy during their phone calls and all of it seemed to come back to the redhead sitting at the bar.

Irina had believed Nagisa to be ace just as the other had himself until the swelling feelings of affection tugged at his heart whenever he was in the presence of Karma. It hadn't happened right away but there were signs Nagisa had been opening up to his client in more ways than the intended friendship to ease him back into society. Before long Nagisa had confessed he wanted to intimacy with Karma but feared his training would instinctively draw him towards guiding his blade between Karma's ribs by the end. The afterthought of it giving Karma the wrong idea was what lead her to conclude her student and adopted child was in fact demisexual.

She remembered fondly the curious way he'd let the word roll off his tongue as they spent the night and early hours of morning talking it over and discovering Nagisa's sexuality. It gave him a sense of comfort knowing where he finally stood and why he never indulged the idea of intimacy with the other students after training. He simply hadn't been close enough to any of them to open himself up in that way.

Irina could see the way his face twisted and his eyes stared down in thought through their laptop screens as the idea bloomed that intimacy wasn't necessarily something he wanted to just give to anyone. The conflict was there too. Dancing across his features as the pleasant idea opposed his teaching and job.

It wasn't the kind of thing that could be resolved in a simple night of discussion and if she had to take a bet, her money was on that very reason for Nagisa shutting off in front of Karma.

Nearing her room, the one overlooking the hotel entrance, she could hear faint sobbing on the other side.

Kneeling down to press an ear to the polished wood door she knocked gently.

"Nagisa, will you let me come in?"

The sobbing came to an almost forced end and the sound of shuffling signified the other had moved from his spot against the door.

Tentatively standing back up, Irina unlocked the door just enough to squeeze through and lock the door behind her. Sliding down the back to rest at Nagisa's side.

He sat there hunched with arms pulling his knees to his chest. His hair coming loose and makeup a mess from wiping the tears from his eyes.

Kicking off her heels to rest with Nagisa's own discarded platform shoes and wrapping her arm around the smaller boy to pull him close. If there was one thing that hurt her most, it was seeing her students cry.

"Is there something wrong with me?" Nagisa choked out as the soothing circles rubbing into his back encouraged more steady breathing.

It was a question the blue haired male would ask whenever the thought of his sexuality grew too overwhelming to handle. His preference conflicted with his teachings and work effort, up until meeting Karma, sex was simply a tool to better his work. He had no real emotion tying him to the act and so he could perform his role as necessary.

Karma of course with his charms and flirting cracked that disassociation at the seams and the initial horror was that he may be falling to Karma’s schemes and he was okay with that. It meant his own emotions were still in check he had no emotion for himself and he could simply deny any semblance of attraction to the other male.

But as he looked back on their progress, the tender kisses that made him wish to embrace, the hungry make out sessions that left the redhead ravished and breathless, the overwhelming desire for him to throw caution to the wind and fuck Nagisa senseless against the sheets when he was ill, and the slow tender fuck as Nagisa rode him to climax demanding Karma only look at him, all came back to the feeling of satisfaction and a desire for more.

Despite the incredibly rocky start and hurdles along the way, Nagisa couldn't stop the ache in his chest as his attachment grew like cancer. If he didn't cut it out now it'd surely be too late.

"There's nothing wrong with being demisexual, Nagisa. Your emotions and your feelings are nothing to be ashamed of." Irina spoke soothingly as she untied the other's hair, letting the tight pigtails of blue cascade down his neck before her fingers worked absently to untangle the knots.

"You tore up the contract so your priority is only towards one person right now. Having emotions isn't necessarily a bad thing."

Nagisa wanted desperately to believe those words. He had torn up the contract but that alone was not enough to ease his mind of the potential outcome of December. For his own sake, the rare incident had occurred in which Nagisa was serving two contracts and given the choice at any time to follow one over the other. Both would end on the same day in December but the result was entirely for Nagisa to decide.

As such the emotions towards Karma not only went against his training, but had the added effect of making the small assassin undeniably guilty for even being attached to another client.

It was a confliction of everything he knew and it hurt Irina so much to see her Nagisa suffering so much as he learnt to feel again.

"I want to go home." He sobbed quietly, burying his face into her chest like a child searching for comfort after a bad dream.

There was no denying she did silently hope that Nagisa would come to choose Karma over the organization, she wanted to shelter him from the world that hurt him. She wanted to take him home and forget the contracts that bound him. But she promised not to interfere. To see this through for his own sake so that maybe one day Nagisa could leave the nest and live his life as a 22 year old should be allowed to.

"If this is how Akari felt in our last mission together, then I really am-"

"Nagisa," Irina cut him off a bit more harshly than intended. She wasn't about to let Nagisa return to his self destructive path of guilt. "Relationships take time and are built on mutual feelings, there is nothing wrong with not returning feelings towards someone. There's nothing wrong with just being friends with someone. There's nothing wrong with you for not seeing Akari in the same way she saw you. She never blamed you, she never held anything against you for not, she felt it was her time to leave the yakuza and pursue her dream of becoming an actor. You two still talk to each other don't you?"

It was a question she already knew the answer to but she needed Nagisa to focus on her and understand he wasn't wrong.

Rubbing his eyes, Nagisa gave a silent nod in response.

"You can still comfortably talk and enjoy each other's company?"

Again a small nod as his tears finally seemed to come to an end. Irina smiled warmly down at him, pulling him into a full embrace and stroking his long blue locks in the soothing manner she used to whenever the stress of his life got too much for him. She'd lost a couple dresses to makeup stains like this but she didn't care.

While she almost hated the class of students Karasuma had all but unceremoniously dropped in her lap when he first invited her to work with him to determine whether their budding relationship would actually bear fruit for a sustainable one, she had been surprised to find herself caring deeply for each and every one of them and they in turn cared for her. Needless to say the ever stoic Karasuma had been pleasantly surprised and accept her maybe hundredth flirt to date.

Nagisa had been a different case. He was a student that they had found rather than Korosensei, a small boy damaged mentally by the war, Irina found an almost motherly instinct to take him in and protect him. An assassin he became, following in her footsteps, he even made the occasional slip up of calling her 'mum' and though she laughed and brushed it off, there was a warm feeling whenever he looked at her that way. Perhaps it was why it was so hard to let him go, to learn about the world and find his place within it himself. She knew she couldn't protect him forever.

"Now, would you have been happy if you accepted her feelings that day."

Nagisa took a moment longer to reply. Giving names to emotions he'd come to discover in his time with Karma and realising that even if he forced himself, he could never fake the sort of happiness and confusion the redhead brought into his life.

"No." Was the quiet but confident answer that left his lips. Though he couldn't see her face he knew Irina was smiling.

"You know Akari, wouldn’t accept you not being happy. It was a relationship that was not meant to be and you should never feel guilty about it not being otherwise."

Nagisa pulled himself away to look up at his sensei and mother figure to find that, she too, was crying. His tears flowed freely once more and the two sat silently weeping in each other's arms.

It had been so long since they'd even been able to talk like this. To confide in each other and let the emotions run free.

Nagisa was so used to seeing her at the end of every contract and the occasional wandering into her office in the early hours of morning to pour his emotions out. Since his body guarding contract kept him almost permanently in Karma's vicinity, there had been almost no chance bar the weekly Skype call for the confused blue male to properly discuss his emotions. Needless to say they had bubbled to the brim and caused him to shut off from Karma entirely. He thought he could manage their dinner, talk with Irina afterwards, but he hadn't.

The intensity of his feelings and guilt overwhelmed him seeing Karma's loving gaze upon him once more.

He'd hurt Karma back there. He knew what he was doing but he couldn't stop himself from the desire to run from his problems. He wanted to apologise.

As he was about to voice this need, Irina spoke once more. Gently wiping the tears from his cheeks and smoothing out his hair back into his pigtails.

"I want you to take a couple of days to find your bearings. It's okay if you don't figure it all out, but as long as you think about what you want. Not what's expected of you as a bodyguard, nor as a yakuza student. I'll provide an extra set of eyes so you can at least spare time to think it over okay? You're doing nothing wrong Nagisa, you're protecting Karma from harm and that's all your contract asked of you."

"I want to apologise to Karma." Nagisa finally got out in a strained almost frog-like voice from his earlier breakdown.

Irina chuckled warmly.

"Not like that you aren't. Here pass me my purse I'll fix up your makeup for you."

*  *  *

Karma sat at the bar toying with the empty glass he hadn't yet bothered to refill.

He wasn't the type to drown his sorrows in liquor, although it helped to relieve a little of the pain, the redhead chose to distract himself with other company. But as it was, he'd made a promise to himself if he really did care about Nagisa as someone more than a one night stand, he'd forego his habit of wandering down to the bar for a quick bang.

Terasaka and his gang had long since dispersed leaving only the oaf to sit at the end of the bar with a glass of soda. Only silently cursing being unable to drink before driving the others home. He wanted a beer. He wanted his boss to stop getting hurt over his bodyguard.

He had to suppress the urge to yell something at Nagisa for hurting Karma once again but while he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, he could see the almost reserved way Nagisa held himself. Shying away from the larger male as they all but exchanged places at the bar.

Karma glanced at the smaller male for only a moment before focusing back on the empty glass.

It wasn't much time, but Nagisa could see the puffiness of the redhead's eyes confirming he too had been crying. A knot of guilt tightened in his chest as he tried to calm himself down. He wanted to make things right.

"I'm sorry if the flirting was too much." Karma said still avoiding eye contact with his head buried in arms.

"I got excited meeting someone who knows you better than I ever could, I got carried away, it probably came across as a little creepy even though we both laughed." 

Nagisa could hear the way Karma ordered his words slowly and carefully. Not as much as he did on the odd occasion he got drunk, but instead with the same hint of fear as before. He was scared of saying something that'd make Nagisa leave again.

"Karma." He called softly and the redhead's fingers dug into his elbows like it was his only lifeline.

Nagisa waited as the taller male wrangled his shaky breathing back in check, steeling himself to sit up and look at him.

His eyes looked even more red but whether it was from crying again or the change in lighting he couldn't be sure. Either way it tugged his heart like the reminder of Karma's internal suffering from his fall into depression. That was in part his fault too.

Resting a hand on Karma's shoulder he ignored the way the other male flinched and trembled once more beneath his hand, before pulling them together to gently kiss the corner of his lips, the redhead’s eyes widening and searching in question.

Nagisa smiled warmly, cupping a hand to Karma's cheek as the other covered his smaller hand with his.

"I prefer dates with Karma, not Bitchsensei."

Against his will the remaining lingering tears slid down his face he dropped off the bar stool to kiss Nagisa again, grateful their height difference meant while standing he was at eyelevel with the smaller boy.

It was a sloppy but gentle kiss he'd be ashamed about any other day but as Nagisa returned it just as tenderly he felt the warmth of the other washing away those anxieties and thoughts to cut himself off from Nagisa and exist as something that wasn't even friends.

As much as he wanted the seemingly unobtainable male, what he really desired was a friend he could talk to and trust with his life. If nothing else he wished Nagisa could be that to him as he could to Nagisa. Intimacy and dating would simply be a bonus.

Pulling away Karma found himself leaning against the bench and admiring Nagisa's features all over. He loved every part of the assassin, he loved seeing him, and talking to him, and learning everything he could about it.

He wanted to be worth Nagisa's time which now, as August peeked over the horizon, left them with only five months left. The contract was already half way done he feared the thought of what would happen in December.

Why did Nagisa's contract have to end in the early hours of his birthday? It seemed like some cruel joke given how hard he'd fallen for the male. For everything to just end there. As much as he wanted Nagisa to stay there was an ever present nagging of guilt he was selfish in wanting to take Nagisa away from his job.

When he leaves will they even talk again? Would Nagisa be contracted as a bodyguard to someone else? Would he find love in someone else...?

"I stood you up in front of your gang."

Nagisa's words broke him out of his spiralling thoughts.

"It was wrong for me to shut you out like that without saying anything."

It was a rare look on Nagisa's face. One he'd seen very few times when the other openly showed confusion and inner torment. It was a more vulnerable side Karma wanted to protect from whatever the world plagued him with.

Still he kept quiet, focusing solely on Nagisa as he continued to talk.

Although they were steadily getting better at it, they were the same in this aspect he felt. For their own reasons they found it hard to confide real emotion in anyone.

"My job trained me to do what I had to, to make a kill, complete a contract, but as a bodyguard I've been experiencing a lot of new things.

"I always thought I had no interest in any form of intimacy and that's why I could perform so well because I was never attached.

"But being with you, around you, there's this ache in my chest. I wanted to believe maybe you were just manipulating me but these feelings won't go away. "

His words fell quiet for a moment as his body began to lightly tremble. Almost instinctively Karma reached his hand across the bench to take up Nagisa's own. Holding his gently and rubbing small circles over the back and knuckle.

Silently glad Terasaka had left for the lobby, Nagisa took a deep breath trying to stop himself from rambling, and continued.

"I recently learned I might be demisexual. It's nice to put a word to the feelings but... it's a really confusing time for me. I'm sorry for hurting you, I just, need a little time to try and find myself."

It made him uneasy, wearing his heart on his sleeve like this. Some part of him almost wanted Karma to stab it and tell him that emotion was unnecessary, that he had just been playing him all along. But the deeper part almost begged Karma to understand. While his emotions were confusing they were not hated. He wanted the company, the late night movies on the couch, the shopping trips and dinner dates, the kissing and the cuddling, he wanted it all and he wanted to share it with Karma.

"I'm sorry if I've been too forward." The redhead chuckled warmly entwining their fingers. He was smiling again like the usual confident Karma it made Nagisa's heart warm.

"I can't really relate to how you feel, I've kinda always known my preference was for guys, I went out with girls cause they wanted to go out with me. The reason most broke up with me after the first week? They found out where my preference really was." He continued, laughing like it was a bad joke. At a guess Nagisa assumed they caught him flirting or staring at some other guy's ass. The offended look on their faces was something he could compare to experiences on hits. The mental image made him giggle.

"Take all the time you need, Nagisa, I can't guarantee it, but I'll try tone down the flirting until you feel comfortable again." Karma said so genuinely Nagisa had to refrain from kissing him again.

The familiar warmth filled his heart and dusted his cheeks. Karma wouldn't be Karma is there wasn't at least a little bit of flirting here and there, honestly, he couldn't bring himself to mind.

"Thank you, Karma."


	9. August

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We've had some Nagisa backstory so how about some Karma backstory?  
> Updating every SECOND MONDAY!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't want to wait for the next chapter? You can buy the PDF now!  
> Interested in a physical copy of the novel? Enter the giveaway now!
> 
> http://spacedragonarmada.tumblr.com/post/171780131550/chapter-update-915-can-be-found-here-first

Irina had, as he always did, keep to her word. She took up residence in a safe house adjacent Karma’s to ease off the stress of his duties while he came to terms with his feelings. It was frustrating that it was talking so long but he was grateful.

Karma too, kept to his word. His flirting had dropped significantly and Nagisa was actually missing it.

Despite what Irina had said, he couldn’t stop the fact these emotions were betraying his teachings when it came to clients. At its core he didn’t know how he was supposed to act around Karma.

Was he supposed to act on these feelings or was he supposed to following his teaching? Irina hasn’t been as clear as he would have liked. Seldom did she ever withhold information from him and logic put it down to this being another test. But he wasn’t sure what that test would be or why it would involve Karma.

Today had been particularly bad day for him. He’d spent most of the day staring daggers into the table as his thoughts ran circles in his brain. Hair undone and falling in a mess from almost ripping it out in stress, shielding his face from Karma as he carefully approached.

"Tell me what the table has done to deserve such malice from you and I will have it removed immediately." The redhead attempts to joke in the face of Nagisa's obviously somber mood.

By now he can easily tell when his bodyguard is having a hard time, it was rare enough to see him with his hair down, and he can tell when the problem Nagisa is having was with or about him. By announcing himself in this way he is trying to subtly find out what he has done to distress Nagisa.

Nagisa however, couldn’t even bring himself to manage a scoff. His gaze remained on the table as he tried to organize a linear train of thought.

Karma had offered his hand in someone to talk to on the matter and well, considering this _was_ Karma’s fault in the first place, he should open up and talk. He owed the other at least that much.

“I... don’t know how to act around you.”

“By being yourself.” Karma stated matter-of-factly. Shrugging his shoulders as he rounded the sofa to sit on the cushion next to him. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted from you.”

Nagisa’s brow knitted together as his confusion deepened.

“What if the real Nagisa isn’t what you expected, or someone you even want to know?”

“I wouldn’t know.” He tried to joke. Kicking his legs up to rest on the table as he leaned back to admire the other from another angle. No matter what his mood, the assassin was always so beautiful, after almost eight months of living with Nagisa, he has come to believe he truly would love every personality of him to. “I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of meeting the _real_ Nagisa you speak of. Nagisa is Nagisa though.” He continued poking out his tongue, his usual superior tone returning causing Nagisa’s fingers to twitch. “I’ll win you over either way- _ah!_ ”

The next thing he knew, he’d been pulled up onto the sofa and his field of vision had narrow to the piercing blue gaze of Nagisa’s eyes. Bloodlust radiated from him and as terrifying as it was, he couldn’t help but find it arousing.

The smaller male was straddling him, body pressed close and blue hair falling to create a curtain blocking them off from the rest of the world. It took him a moment to notice the fingers pressed to his the sensitive skin of his throat. Was this the Nagisa he was referring to? The assassin? That was nothing new.

There was however, one difference. If there was one thing he’d learnt about Nagisa, it was when he was acting. For all his malice, those eyes held uncertainty and fear. Had it not been for his training and skill, he gambled Nagisa would be trembling.

“This is the real me, Karma.”

“I see no difference.” Karma answered honestly as Nagisa’s eyes narrowed and the pressure against his neck and body increased. Well, that boner wouldn’t stay hidden much longer. He just hoped Nagisa had the decency not bring it up.

Nagisa sighed and moved his hand back from Karma's throat. The bloodlust faded from his eyes, leaving them less of the hard eyes of a predator and more of the soft blue eyes of the Nagisa Karma knew.

"What am I going to do with you?" He sighed in a way that did nothing to help Karma's little problem. "You really are incorrigible aren't you? It really is frustrating. I tell you the real me is this ruthless killer and it _turns you on_. It should suffice to say that isn't the normal reaction."

"I'm not a normal kind of guy." Karma points out, trying to redirect the conversation away from his arousal.

“Nagisa, you may be a hot, sexy assassin who uses his charms to seduce every man and women in the room, at its core sure you may be a murderer. But in this city, there isn’t a man, woman or child who doesn’t have blood on their hands in some way. You’re no different from anyone else, heck if anything you’re one of the more _noble_ killers in this town.”

At this Nagisa scoffed. “Noble huh.” Leaving Karma’s problem out of the topic for a moment, Nagisa pushed himself back on Karma’s chest as he continued, he didn’t want to risk Karma reading too much into his emotions. Much like his mentor, his act lasted only so long as his client didn’t pay attention to who he was. With contract seldom lasting more than a couple days at the most, Karma had more than enough opportunities to get a read on him, break his self made barrier of self preservation.

“And what if I stayed? What if you got what you wanted? Would that satisfy you to know you’ve won? Would you toss me away once you were done?”

Karma searched those eyes and saw the fear within those depths. The fear of becoming attached. The fear of being abandoned.

“Nagisa.” Karma repeated with a smile upon his face. “Coming from the guy who never holds a date for more than a week, who hasn't gone to the bar or even looked at another person with a desire for romance or sex since you started working here, who after almost eight months of living together still has these feelings for only his bodyguard and assassin, I’d like to think his affections are genuine.”

Nagisa refused to meet that golden gaze so riddled with love and affection he felt like he’d melt just looking at them. He wouldn’t admit how Karma’s words made his heart race, nor how it threatened to bring tears to his eyes. He wanted to believe him so much it _hurt_.

“And... what if... I could not offer you myself... as a partner?”

“Your friendship means as much to me as a relationship of a sexual or romantic nature. The fact of the matter is Nagisa, I don’t want you to leave. I don’t want a world where you’re not part of it.”

Nagisa sighs.

"I really hate you." He says in a way that lacks any real malice. "You make things complicated."

He sweeps his long hair back from his forehead and smiles.

“I suppose I should be proud of that.” Karma chuckles fondly. His hand twitching with the desire to cup the other’s cute face and brush away any tear that dared to break his composure.

They sat for a moment in what would have been comfortable silence, simply reading each other’s eyes, had his pants not been so tight. He wanted out of them, but he wanted Nagisa out of his clothes too. A feat that would prove a bit more difficult given their current situation.

“We should get out of the house. Got to the casino, play some cards. Get away from everything for a while.” _Bring you back to your comfort zone,_ he finished internally. Nagisa responded positively.

“A change in scenery would be nice. I suppose you’re picking the game we play?” He hummed thoughtfully and the redheaded devil’s horns metaphorically manifested themselves once more.

“Naturally~ We shall go for a game of poker.”

“The one game you are supposedly undefeated in?” Nagisa pressed, cocking his head to the side and raising an eyebrow. Of course Karma would choose one he had an advantage in, no doubt there would be a catch when they got there too and given Karma’s current state, it was probably something sexual. In honesty though, he wouldn’t mind a casual fuck right about now.

Karma simply tilted his chin up in that almost condescending way Nagisa had come to find quite adorable. It would be all the more fun to take the crown from the mighty king who thought himself invincible. Payback, he thought playfully, for messing with his emotions like this.

“I’ll go get changed.” Nagisa cooed, slipping off Karma’s waist and helping the taller male up, patting down his shirt so he looked at least a _little_ more presentable.

“I’ll meet you in the car there’s something I need to take care of first.”

“You mean your raging teenage hormones?” Nagisa teased, poking at the obvious tent in his pants causing the other to flush and shoo his hand away.

“Yes my raging teenage hormones, go put on something nice already, about six item limit though, shoes and socks count at one.”

 _Ah_ , Nagisa thought as he saw that cheeky smile tugging at Karma’s mouth, revealing a small fang between his lips. _So that’s the catch. You want to play a game of strip poker. In that case, you’re hormones are setting you up for defeat._

_Your crown is mine, Karma._

*  *  *

It hadn’t been any more than a couple hours since before Terasaka pulled up in front of the Akabane’s most addictive casino. Arguably the biggest and flashiest building in an already upper-class looking settlement of the city, there was often great debate on whether the North or South delved in the more addictive occupation. According to the East’s collective intel on the West, they were both pretty much neck and neck.

The casino was just another playground for Karma. A facility he would one day inherit entirely for himself, the intelligent male had a hand in the construction of several of the machines.

Quick of study, he’d figured the logistics and mathematics behind one of the most addictive games known to man.

“It’s pretty simple when you know how it works.” Karma practically cooed as he ran his hand over a line of machines, checking his fingers to see whether his cleaners were pulling their weight.

He practically fawned over the machines of his own design, ten in total, all in a row, brightly coloured and enticing with various themes and unique sounds. They had drawn in such a profit to the casino there was no need to take down his creations and replace them with the mirror models that lined the rest of the rooms.

“The math stays the same, but the bright colours that spark excitement and draw you in. The sounds that make every press of a button, every coin dropped in, feel like a win. They draw in about 200 thousand each per year. We might all belong to different territories but that doesn’t mean someone can’t wander freely from one to another. We have regulars from all sides.” Karma continued to ramble on before stopping at the last one in the line.

A machine much older in design, but shamelessly inspired by one of Karma’s oldest video games that sat in what should have been a glass case in his room. The game was the first he ever played and his favourite. The game that started his descent into the realm of video games.

The buttons were worn around the edges and the screen looked as if it had been patched several times. There was a collection of dents under the rest where Nagisa could only assume a much younger Karma had kicked it out of frustration trying to get the machine to work the way he envisioned it.

How many sleepless night did the young redhead follow his father to the casino to recalibrate his math, redesign the theme, until it was perfect. The thought of Karma falling asleep on the machine and having to be carried back home after a long night was an equally adorable thought.

“This is my first machine. I guess I must be a bit sentimental to keep it after so long, but we all have to start from somewhere, right?”

“I think it’s cute.”Nagisa replied admiring the scene around him. The warm inviting colours radiating every which way, from the machines to the decorative high ceiling bathing the room in a shower of gold. The polished floors and rich red patterned carpets. The lively hum of music mixing together in an odd sort of symphony as machines were fed dollar after dollar as folk played to extinction, slowly bled of their money to promising machines.

The bouncers and bodyguards at the front, the pleasant welcoming of staff that made even the lowest of classed individuals feel like royalty. Nagisa couldn’t help but wonder how much of the design was attributed to Karma’s influence. It had been a long while since he’d stepped foot into a casino owned by the Akabane’s but a distant memory told him it wasn’t quite this impressive. Though a hazy memory could well be attributed to his attention to his target.

The slots of course weren’t the only thing that was here. Blackjack, roulette, pachinko, and poker were all on the menu, the latter being the younger Akabane’s favourite, and the reason they were here.

 “It’s nice seeing you so enthusiastic about something.”

“I do love my games.” Karma simply joked poking his tongue out in a childish gesture.  “You’re not on the job here, but would you like a quick tour to put your mind at ease?”

“How considerate of you.” Nagisa mused as Karma held out his elbow in an almost gentlemanly gesture for the other to take. “I suppose you can show me your kingdom.”

The casino was one of the few times Nagisa was not charged with looking after Karma. His father’s own private horde ensured the male’s safety as he more or less, danced through the casino like he was the king of the world. In this case, he probably was.

It was easy enough to imagine the devil in a crown and cape, no doubt something the younger Karma would indulge in as much as the older.

He couldn’t help but feel a little underdressed, Karma was in a smart three piece suit, with a maroon waistcoat and clean pressed bowtie, and here he was, in a formfitting navy waistcoat, a long sleeved white shirt and simple red bowtie.

Still Karma was kind, showing him not only the floor but every nook and cranny of potential weaknesses or blind spots, all of which the bodyguards were well aware of and paid particular attention to observing. It was only natural for a bodyguard of the Akabane family given their well rooted family ties. It was nice seeing some familiar faces among the guards even if they passed nothing more than a knowing glance.

Their tour however was soon cut short as Itona entered the room.

“Following me on the camera’s again are you? The machines don’t need maintenance until closing what brings you here?”

“I’m making sure you’re not _christening_ any tables.” He replied in a deadpan expression that could have rivalled Nagisa. Eight years the spiky platinum blonde male had been under Karma’s command and he still very much maintained the same degree of humour, his ability to socialise and work in a team had vastly improved though.

An ex-cocaine addicted clean for almost 9 and a half years now, the engineer had been inducted into a group of Asano’s hired muscle and come into conflict with Terasaka’s gang 2 years prior to their affiliation with Akabane. While their history was something seldom brought up in conversation, Terasaka perhaps took pity on the struggling male, knowing what it was like scraping the bottom of the barrel, looking for any means necessary to protect your family from living on the streets or worse.

The crosshatched bandana that covered his forehead and held his messy hair mostly out of his eyes was a gift from Terasaka upon his inclusion into their gang and while none of them wore it now, Itona continued to wear it.

‘There’s scars from fights and substance abuse’ He’d reasoned and left it at that. The same story every time, yet Terasaka would claim while he wasn’t the most observant person on the block, he had never seen and signs of a scar or remnants of drugs on his body.

Karma had joked the big oaf must have gotten quite close and personal to be able to make that assumption to which the conversation was dropped immediately. It was no real secret that Terasaka had feelings for the male he basically adopted like a grouchy mother hen, and those feelings were returned, Terasaka was just too damn thick to take a hint. 

“I wanted to ask you something about Terasaka.” He continued and for a moment Nagisa thought the other would ask a similar question to the one he’d asked him in regards to moving his relationship forward with Terasaka down at the bar several months earlier. He’d tried to keep out of their romantic affairs, Terasaka was very awkward when it came to anything that might deem him ‘unmanly,’ a stark contract to Nagisa who fully embraced his androgyny.

“If you’re asking the best way to confess to him, Nagisa is probably the better one to ask.”

“No, not that. Can we talk privately?” Itona gestured towards the hall down to the offices and with a small amount of reluctance, Karma released his hold on Nagisa’s arm.

“Go on ahead, Nagi, if you find yourself lost any tall buff guy in a suit will happily show you to our room. I’ve got out the rule book if you want to give it a read over, we shouldn’t be too long. Though if you miss me, we’ll be just down the hall.” He finished with a teasing wink causing Nagisa to affectionately roll his eyes, giving him a quick peck on the cheek before parting ways.

“So what did you want to ask about?” Karma inquired returning his attention to the smaller male as they made their way down the dimly lit hall and into the office.

“I wanted to ask you what you think of Terasaka.” Itona says bluntly.

“You could do worse.” Karma shrugs with one shoulder.

 “Is that all?” Itona asks and, as unreadable as his face was, a little lightbulb clicks on in Karma’s mind.

Ah, he was probably trying to psyche himself up to confess and wanted to know he’d made the right choice in choosing Terasaka. Karma knew what he had to do, he had to talk Terasaka up. After years of loyal service Karma had the opportunity to do Terasaka a solid and play wingman. If he did well he might not be the only one seeing his love interest in the nude tonight.

“Seriously, just between us, Terasaka’s an amazing guy. He’s strong, not just physically, but as a person. No matter how hard things get he will never give up on you or let you down. He’s loyal and kind and reliable and he may not be book smart but he pays attention and really cares about people in a way you don’t often see. He’s thoughtful too, and sweet. When my parents missed my birthday for the third year in a row and I felt like locking myself in my room and crying he got everyone to throw me a surprise party and carried the TV up the stairs so we could play games together. I started tearing up when we were playing Mario Kart. I ended up crying on his shoulder and he let me win because I couldn’t see the screen through the tears. He’s one of the most genuine people I know. Around him your past, your problems, none of it matters. Terasaka cares about you right down to the bones.” Karma tells Itona in earnest.

“He will always be honest with you, not just tell you what you want to hear, and you can trust him with your life. He will never forget your birthday or anything important to you. He’ll drive your hours through snow just to get you your favourite food when you’re feeling sick. You can rely on him to be your rock, to keep you grounded and steady. Honestly, you would be lucky to have him. I’m lucky to have him as a friend.”

“You always seem hard on him.” Itona points out.

Karma laughs.

“Well yeah, I rib him a bit, we’re bros. He’s the manly macho type. If I started giving him gushing compliments it would ruin his tough guy reputation. He already knows I’m gay, I don’t want it to come off as flirting. He’d probably be embarrassed if he heard me going on like this but keep what I said in mind, alright?”

“I will.” Itona’s voice is a careful blank. “Thank you, I won’t keep you any longer.”

“Well if that’s all you needed I wish you good luck.” Karma winks at him before turning his thoughts back to the poker game. There was a spring in his step from the feeling of having done one good deed today to balance out some of his planned sinning.

He completely misses the closet door click as Terasaka, who had ducked in there when the boss walked in, slowly pushed the door open a crack.

He shut the office door behind him, having no idea that this was the first time Terasaka had heard his boss give him an honest word of praise, and caught up with Nagisa.

Returning to the room arm in arm with the smaller male once more, Nagisa took a moment to appreciate whispering jazz playing through the speakers. The room was significantly smaller than the rest of the building, one of many more private rooms available to use for gang heads wishing to play a round or, for Karma’s indulgence, to play a round of strip poker.

The carpet remained the same, but under the dimmer light, the walls revealed themselves to be a rather beautiful natural wood. A stark contrast to the golden main hall. 

Large reinforced windows a good three of four layers thick overlooked the nightlife several stories below them. Large mirrors adorned the walls behind the two ends of the table, no doubt to ensure participants safety as well as indulging in the victories of a win in this trashy version of Karma’s favourite game.

“Would you like a drink before we get started?” Karma asked while pouring himself a glass from the extensive collection between the windows. This was definitely Karma’s personal room.

“We’ll get kicked out if one of us gets too tipsy. I’m not the best when it comes to alcohol.” Nagisa admitted gesturing instead for a glass of water.

“Suit yourself.” He shrugged, bringing over the glass and taking up his own seat at the other end of the table.

Nagisa watched with curious eye as Karma shrugged off his suit jacket and placed it down over and empty seat.

“Bowtie, waistcoat, shirt, belt, shoes, pants, and underwear. If you end up in your birthday suit you lose.” Karma cooed, leaning against the table and eyeing Nagisa up as if he was already undressing him with his eyes. “Now we have the same amount of clothing.”

“Perhaps, but you don’t know what I’m hiding under my pants.” Nagisa teased, throwing off Karma’s little fantasy with the possibility of something more beneath those clothes. They did decide on strip poker before leaving, it was entirely possible Nagisa could have dressed up. Karma was most curious.

“I’ll find out soon enough.” He declared with the slightest hint of arrogance.

“Well I want to kick you off your throne.” Nagisa smirked, fingering the rim of his glass enticing a sweet tune. Karma was so confident he would not lose. But he was forgetting one thing. He was so unbelievably _smitten_ with Nagisa. Flash a little skin, maybe the other would be singing a different tune.

“Why kick me off when you could sit in my lap instead?”

“Because we’re here to play cards, not prove Itona right and have sex on the table you hormonal teenager.” Nagisa joked with a teasing jab.

“You’re the one making this sexual, I’m the innocent party here.” Karma replied shuffling the cards by hand, then by machine, then by hand again.

“Karma, there’s hundreds of words in the dictionary that could be used to describe you and ‘innocent’ isn’t one of them.”

The redhead gave him that kind of wink that shouted ‘you know it’ then finally set to work dishing out their cards to play. They ended up playing a grand total of 10 games before a winner was determined and the loser sat almost uncomfortably in their underpants as the final hands were revealed.

 

Game one Nagisa one with 3 of a kind beating Karma’s high card in what Karma called ‘beginner’s luck.’

Game two however saw a repeat win with Nagisa’s 4 of a kind beating a pair of Aces. Karma concluded he was just letting Nagisa win as his bowtie and waistcoat were promptly removed.

Game three saw a shift in Karma’s favour, a straight from 5 to 9 destroying Nagisa’s single queen, and the blue haired male undid the bowtie from his neck.

Game four was another win for Nagisa. A confident Karma pulling out his three of a kind with Kings only for the other to reveal the final King in his hand next to an Ace, Queen, Jack, and 10. A royal flush. Karma begrudgingly removed his belt.

Game five the tide turned back to Karma. A full house three 10s and two 9s overruling Nagisa’s straight flush. Off came the navy waistcoat.

Game six was Karma’s win again. Two pair and high card. Nagisa was removing his shirt and Karma sized him up like a hungry wolf and more and more skin was revealed. Whether it was the room’s lighting or not he couldn’t be sure, but for whatever reason the other looked just a little more toned than the last time he’d seen the male shirtless. There was no concealer to hide those ever gorgeous tattoos, nor the fading proof of a hot make out session a week or so prior. Karma bit his lip.  

Game seven Karma internally put down to distraction. He made the mistake of hording the wrong cards and barely managed three of a kind by dumb luck leaving Nagisa for another win with a 4 to 8 straight. Off came Karma’s shoes.

Game eight Karma pulled his head back in the game dishing out four of a kind Queens to knock out Nagisa’s pair of 9s. The victory however was short lived as Nagisa stood up and fumbled with his belt buckle before slipping it off in a teasingly slow pace. The pants, always a size too big for him, promptly slipped down to barely catch on his hips revealing just a sliver of what Karma swore were lacy fabric. Karma’s mind raced at the potential the other really was hiding a surprise beneath those dress pants. If he could just get off his shoes he could confirm if it was a full lacy set or just lacy underwear. Either was an appealing thought.

Game nine the plan to get Nagisa out of his shoes backfired as fortune favoured the assassin, a full house beating his flush of hearts. Oddly amusing given his current predicament. He still had one more item of clothing before he lost. Nagisa had three. He was the King of poker. He could do this.

But game ten brought their fun to an end as his flush of spades was beaten by four of a kind.

"Come on Karma, you lose so off with the underpants." Nagisa cooed smirking like little devil in victory.

"I know I've lost I may as well put my clothes back on." He tried to reason and naturally Nagisa was having none of that.

Karmas intention had been to gawk at Nagisa's body in victory there was no denying that. But now the table's had turned and Nagisa wasn't about to let the other get away free.

Rising from his seat to round the table where the redhead had awkwardly began to fumble his clothes back on, Nagisa swiftly cut off the dressing of pants to playfully kick his legs open, tutting his behaviour like a naughty child and taking hold of his waistband.

"You're not getting away that easily, no matter what's hiding beneath the cloth. I haven't officially won until this here hits the ground." He pressed with a gentle tug of the cloth.

Reluctantly Karma agreed and the final article of clothing came off and the embarrassment he was trying to hide sprung to attention finally free of its cage.

Nagisa simply giggled at the embarrassed flush that crossed the taller man's face as admired the boner.

"Geeze Karma. First from me pinning you down, now from giving you a little strip tease? How many times are planning to come today?" He hummed watching the way Karma bit into his lip as he absently rolled his tip with his middle finger. Pleasuring him in small rhythmic circles until his finger became wet.

"Too bad you didn't get my pants off, I put on the cutest garter belt and stocking set for the King of Poker. Guess I'll have to save that little treat for later." He punctuated by removing his finger and walking back with a teasing swing to his hips to retrieve his clothes causing Karma to audibly groan.

"Just one more time." Karma practically begged like one of the many thousands of addicts that eagerly waited for the opening of the casino to bleed themselves dry on the machines.

If Karma was addicted to a drug, that drug would be Nagisa. He could never get enough of that attractive blue haired assassin that only tormented him further by seductively running his tongue along the dampened middle finger and swiping the tip with his tongue.

Karma had to stop himself from jumping the other there and then, he was so hard.

"You have no clothes, and nothing else to bet with. Heaven forbid you start trying to pay money for me like a prostitute." He played making sure Karma was well aware he knew Karma didn't see him that way.

"You'll just have to wait and hope this little treat comes around later." He emphasised by tucking his white shirt in, hand reaching father further down than it needed too but the action alone made Karma physically twitch. It was so much fun to rile the redhead up like this.

He hadn't actually worn the full lace set of garter, panties, and stockings beneath his pants, and frankly they were among his least favourite articles of clothing to wear outside of work but the way Karma so desperately wanted to see him in such sexy clothing was enough to make him consider it maybe once for the male.

Perhaps he could go out and buy a nice set with cash so Karma couldn't tell when he brought them and any time the redhead called for a rematch and lost, or maybe just on the odd laundry day place the garter into the washing basket just to tease him that little bit more.

Nagisa found himself growing rather fond of the idea. Ideally he'd only have to wear it once and for Karma he was about ready to try anything with him once.

"Come, Karma. Let's head home before you stain your carpet."

*  *  *

Nagisa would never admit it to Karma under such circumstances, but he’d been counting down the minutes until the meeting’s intermission. The idea of public or semi public sex was so unprofessional a forbidden act in his relationships that he next to never got to indulge in as part of his job. It was arguably one of his biggest turn ons.

‘I dare you to wear this into the meeting.’ Karma has announced practically bounding into the lounge like some excited puppy.  The truth was ever since Karma suggested it, the Yakuza assassin had to force down his excitement to at least give off the impression Karma hadn’t won there and then.

He’d first discovered the kink when dealing with a particularly difficult target. Feeling he couldn’t play aroused convincingly enough he had opted to provide himself with a little ‘motivation’ in the form of a vibrator with the cord and controls looped carefully opposite the gun holster on his thigh.

It was an innocent enough intention but the result had him discovering the intense excitement that left him hard and wet. Needless to say he managed to play the role convincingly enough, and may have indulged himself on occasion. It was the first kink he discovered for himself. Something he enjoyed. Thoroughly.

"Wow Nagisa you're so wet and loose down here." The redhead cooed while casually rubbing his fingers up and down the crease of Nagisa's ass. Pressing and tugging the vibrating plug at random intervals to watch the way his cheeks clenched and body twitched.

"Just how turned on are you?"

"You failed to mention it was a vibrator." Nagisa retorted, biting back a low moan as Karma tugged the object out leaving him feelings empty and unsatisfied. It was getting harder to hold back the urge to tie Karma down and ride him like no tomorrow.

"I wanted it to be a surprise." Came the innocent response as Nagisa was pulled into his lap.

There was something different about Nagisa. Something unfamiliar as the others ass greedily drew in his length. The covered tattoos and hickeys from days previous were all in place but the assassin was moaning and gasping loudly as he rolled his hips in Karma’s lap almost as if he was trying to fuck himself deeper and deeper.

It was a startling attractive side to his bodyguard.

Karma set a leisurely pace which Nagisa grew quickly impatient of. Urging him faster and directing his thrusts to where he knew it would feel best.

The sharp spark of pleasure shooting up his spine was enough to inform him he'd hit his mark.

Nagisa crumbled to a mess of pants and grunts as he shifted ever so slightly to find the right touch that would make him moan.

Finding the movement was frustrating but the reward was worth it as the mind numbing bolt radiated from his ass, tingling his senses and causing his toes to curl as he let out an undignified moan for more.

The sound was so loud Karma instinctively wrapped an arm around Nagisa’s waist to force down their movements. Covering Nagisa’s mouth with his hand and leaning bending the smaller male over as he leaned to listen.

"Nagisa if you don't keep it down someone might hear us."

It was a serious issue but to his surprise the comment only seemed to make Nagisa _louder_ , clenching around Karma’s length drawing out a curse as he bit down into Nagisa's neck.

Whether Nagisa was unimpressed or impatient, Karma didn’t know, but in the next moment he felt the other licking at his fingers before tugging two digits into his mouth and sucking. Rubbing against Karma and urging him to hurry up. They didn’t exactly have much more time. 

“You’re sucking my fingers in so deep.” Karma spoke quietly. His face matched his hair as the saliva from Nagisa’s mouth slowly trickled down his arm sending a shiver down his spine.

Nagisa didn't care. As he pulled Karma back to that gloriously sweet movement he met Karma’s renewed thrusts with reckless abandon. The muffled moans of yes and more drowned against Karma’s fingers and his sucked them desperately. Riding the high as he fast approached his climax, precome dribbling down the length of his cock, and eyes unfocused and rolling back when his body teetered on the edge, before finally throwing his head back in one of the most satisfying orgasms he'd had in a long time.

Karma was soon to follow.

Pulling out Nagisa felt his legs hum in pleasure. Face flushed, sweat cooling on his burning skin, and breathing erratic as he practically gulped down air to slow his pounding heart. He knew he wouldn't be standing properly after that.

"What the hell was that?" Karma breathed an exhausted laugh as he quickly cleaned up and pulled up his pants.

"You may as well have been fucking me you were so into it haha."

Nagisa ignored the comment and willed himself to stand on wobbly legs. Cleaning off the mess and making himself look presentable again as he responded, voice betraying his intentions and coming off more unguarded than usual.

"We should get back before someone comes looking."

The blush still plastered across the others face didn't go unnoticed as gold eyes darted across Nagisa’s form. 

“Yeah we should.” He hummed in triumph.

*  *  *

Gakushu couldn't ignore the massive bruises on Nagisa's neck as the duo returned to the meeting room as the intermission was drawing to a close.  As he came in for a closer look Nagisa tugged at his collar almost defensively trying to keep the marks from view.

“-I’m well thank you, Gakushu. Why do you ask?”

Was Karma abusing him?

Sure Nagisa was, in every sense of the word, incredibly attractive, probably the most attractive male he'd met next to Karma and it still disturbed him to even admit that much. He wasn't sure if it was Karma _physically_ or that fiercely competitive nature second only to his own divine intellect that was attractive but no, Karma didn't make him question his sexuality like Nagisa did. But no matter how attractive the bodyguard was it was no excuse to abuse his authority. Gakushu wouldn't stand for it.

“Are you okay?”

He decided to confront the redhead about this.

“Ah, forgive me Nagisa I’m a little distracted.”

“Your father?” His voice lowered and eyes steeled over. It warmed his heart seeing Nagisa worrying about the situation with his father like this. It was a secret not many knew as deeply as Nagisa did, it made him feel acknowledged.

“...Yeah.” He decided to go with that. It wasn’t true but it wasn’t necessarily untrue either. Given the fact the territory he had just secured was all but devoid of resources thanks to the Akabane family getting in months prior to himself, using _his_ trick of all things, and making it out the resources were still flowing freely in and out of what he believed was Ryuki’s territory before it was abandoned it in a hollow win for Asano.

Quite bluntly he’d secured a piece of pyrite in a field of gold. He certainly was a fool.

Leaving Nagisa with such a concerned expression on that beautiful round face was painful, but he wanted to get to the bottom of a more pressing issue.

In the scramble to shove down the last bites of a sandwich and brush the crumps from their suits, Gakushu crossed the room to catch the redhead before the meeting was to resume.

"Akabane I want to ask you something." He began only to lose his train of thought as his gaze caught matching telltale bruises littering his neck. It was a sight he hadn't seen in a long time. Since Karma’s previous partner. He often displayed those particular marks like an arrogant peacock to remind everyone he was getting laid.

Was that what was happening now? Had Karma and Nagisa reached a stage in their relationship where sex was an option?

He hated how jealous the thought made him feel. Surely he was jumping to conclusions. There was no _actual_ evidence Nagisa had chosen the redhead or that they were even having sex. He was getting ahead of himself.  Nagisa himself said he wouldn't date while under contract.

"Well spit it out." Karma's playful reply broke him out of those traitorous thoughts. Stumbling over his words as he tried to keep composure and carry on. There were bigger things for him to worry about than Nagisa's relationship status.

"Nothing. Forget I said anything."

Just like that the blonde was gone and Nagisa was returning to Karma’s side as the meeting was called back into session.

“Nagisa.” Karma spoke quietly as he drew his bodyguard’s attention, gesturing him to lean down as his whispered his concerns.

“Gakushu was talking to you before me wasn’t he? What did you see in his eyes?”

While Karma’s skill of observation was not as finely tuned as his own, there was no denying the taller male had a talent for running through an individual’s persona with a fine toothed comb. Unlike Nagisa who observed everyone around him, when it came to Karma his skill only applied if they were someone he actually wanted to understand.

‘What did you see in his eyes’ was a question he’d come to use quite frequently. Whenever he attended meet and greets or confronted people he believed had hidden motives, he would ask Nagisa this question to get a gauge on how best he should respond. Initially it had been something Nagisa would just _tell_ him to make sure he was aware and prevent him from making a choice where his logic alone wasn’t the only factor, but now he would _ask_ Nagisa’s observation.

His growth over these past few months made him smile. He’d stopped being quite so reckless and but his skill of mischief to better use, much like he had now in the war for territories.

“He’s terrified.”

“Because the territory was scrap?”

“Because of the punishment for losing. You beat him at his own game using a technique he is supposed to be a master in. There’s some in the Asano family that would not stand for that.”

Karma reclined in his chair, lacing his fingers together and resting them on the arms of the chair to hide his expression.

“Have you ever seen Gakushu in a short sleeved shirt?” Nagisa questioned and Karma cocked an eyebrow in question.

“No. Not even at the mandatory beach parties.”

“Curious that he doesn’t when the temperature here averages a constant 27°C don’t you think? He never wears white in the sweltering summer heat and if the fabric is thin it’s always heavily patterned, wouldn’t it be easier to take off his shirt?

“The Asano family are known for the darkest centipede tattoos coiling around their arms. Everyone knows they are a mark of an individual’s failures and a complete sleeve is a mark of death.

“Do you really believe Gakushu would be spared from that fate simply for being Gakuho’s son?

“The meeting is drawing on because he terrified to go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't want to wait for the next chapter? You can buy the PDF now!  
> Interested in a physical copy of the novel? Enter the giveaway now!
> 
> http://spacedragonarmada.tumblr.com/post/171780131550/chapter-update-915-can-be-found-here-first


	10. September

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for pain! and some fluff too. This is one of my favourite chapters you can probably guess why lmao.  
> 

The bobbing and endless hum of the needle moving up and down gathering ink and pouring it into the dermal layer of his skin was excruciating. He didn't have the highest of pain tolerances from his golden of status being above the rest and near untouchable, and he _knew_ his father always went a little too deep into the skin as he tattooed.

Deep, slow, precise strokes of the needle as he outlined by muscle memory alone where to ink the thick black lines into his skin. It was the kind of marks that would be impossible to ever hide and even if you tried, it would always peak out under layers of concealer.

It was a branding of shame rather than a mark of pride like every other gang in the area. The fear kept them in line and the promise of death if they faltered one too many times kept everyone under Asano obedient. Even his son.

While the pain threatened the young blonde adult with passing out, in his mind this was still the preferable option to seeing some of his closest companions slaughtered from complete tattoos.

The meeting has finished about 10pm Friday and that night his father had called him into his office to discuss it excruciating detail as well as his catastrophic failure to Karma. Gakushu was fully aware the punishment would lead three of his closest allies to their death before the weekend was out and on the brink of finding himself and maybe the strength to fight back. He was running out of time, he needed all the allies he could get if he ever hoped to break free of the chains that tied him to his father.

Gakushu bargained with his father to take the punishment upon himself and surprisingly his father had agreed.

Waking early in a bid to mentally prepare himself for the upcoming torture that had already branded several loops around his arm prior, he made his way to his father’s office once more, passing the heavy desk raised to overlook the rest of the room entirely, to the smaller padded square room that housed that pristine tattoo machine and uncomfortable chair that he would no doubt be rooted to for several hours.

No sound in here would be heard from the office and the door was almost always locked. Few knew about the secrets that lay beyond that closed door, fewer lived long enough to ever mention the gut curling screams of pain the walls had absorbed, nor the tears that pooled on the ground as Gakuho delivered his punishment for failure. It was the Asano’s secret, and one everyone carried to their graves.

Swallowing his fear and focusing his staggered breath, Gakushu rolled up his sleeve and place his branded left arm on the rest. Three tattoos from three separate sections, the first one longer because he’d made the mistake of arguing his case against his father giving him two rings instead of one. It was over something stupid as well. He’d let one grad drop to an A instead of an A+, this wasn’t acceptable for the boy who would one day surpass his father. He couldn’t be any less than perfect in every way.

The rings came to a total of 4 leaving him a mere 6 bands away from a completed sleeve and a hit on his own life.

No one who followed him, not even Ren, knew of the bands he kept hidden beneath a shirt at all times. Every waking moment, every resting moment, those sinful marks were covered to hide his shame, and the reality that not even the boss’s own flesh and blood was safe from his brutal punishments.

Gakuho had arrived not a minute too soon, or too late past 9am. His presence alone making the air feel thick, anticipation and fear making his heart race.

He was always silent to begin with, preparing his tools, testing the ink, pulling out his templates for the varying sized tattoos from the single ring right down to the 10 ring full sleeve. Death would always wait for a completed tattoo by Gakuho.

“Anyone would say that Akabane gang miraculously won a battle against all odds.

“Which means the opinion of them is beginning to shift. And as you are keenly aware this goes against my _educational_ ideals. You used every possible means to win what should have been a walk in the park for an Asano, but you were defeated, proving that your methods were inefficient.

“They used your own strategy against you. They created a diversion.

“You were the commanding officer so they prevented you from issuing orders and they delivered the final blow with their secret weapon. You had already been defeated in the information war.

“Worst of all it was totally pointless for you to lose the game. You are a failure as a leader.

“Of course this isn’t your first failure either. I’m beginning to wonder if you’re even worth the effort.”

Gakuho lectured in the cool, calculating tone that could easily be mistaken for someone reading the daily news. It’s what made it all the worse.

The venom was so controlled it was always too late before you realised you were being poisoned.

Like a swarm of aggravated fire ants. The needle's sting left searing trails in its wake, breaking him into a cold sweat as the fire burned him from the inside out.

He couldn't just ignore it, the taunting words of his father demanded he pay attention and respond like the dutiful son he was.

It was agony. His lips swollen from shifting between it and his lip, trying desperately to hold back the tortured gasps and pathetic whimpers that would fuel his father to be even more cruel.

He wasn't his father, and that was his downfall.

Fighting back the tears that collected in the corners of his eyes, he refused to let them flow. It became harder and harder to stop a desperate plead for the pain to be over.

His focus blurred in and out his heart beat was like a drum inside his ear, his head. Rattling his brain to the point even he tossed caution to the wind and felt he might end up with permanent brain damage.

Gakushu couldn't even put it down to the pain becoming too much, it had been too much since the first cruel stroke of the needle, when his body finally gave up. Limbs going limp as he shut down from exhaustion.

Only then did Gakuho finally put down his pen.

Wiping the excess ink and sealing the arm before carrying his son to the soft bed in the corner of the room.

Tucking him in and brushing away the tears and fringe from his face in an almost tender moment that could have been mistaken for a father caring for his son had it been under any circumstance other than this.

Retiring to the lazyboy chair at the end of the bed, Gakuho propped himself back with a bit of light reading before switching out the light to attempt some sleep of his own.

"We'll continue your lesson in the morning."

*  *  *

1am, 10 hours into the branding and 16 hours into the nightmare Gakushu awoke to the darkness of the room. They’d stopped at 6 for dinner which was consumed in silence per usual, before picking the needle back up by 7. Gakushu had about 2 hours worth of memory. He must have passed out.

Rubbing his eye with his hand the soft embrace of the bed almost fooled him into thinking the tattoo was just a bad dream. But as his sight came into focus he was greeted by the familiar room of torture and his father's resting form in his chair.

Whether he was actually asleep or not was up for debate and Gakushu was much too afraid to even attempt escape. It was like living in a horror movie. One of those where for a moment you truly wonder if a character might get out alive.

Gakushu knew if he didn't anger his father he would escape and life would go on. But with his tattoo barely complete in the line work stage. There were still many hours of torture to go.

If his mother knew about this, would she try and stop Gakuho? In the early days of his fall maybe she could have. But now, Gakuho felt like that boss you accidentally encountered when you still had nothing more than a wooden shield and sword. Alone, he was no match for him.

Perhaps it was time to put down his pride and seek guidance from someone outside of the family.

 

*  *  *

At 4am Gakushu was woken to the pleasant smell of pancakes. The ache in his arm was dull and covered so not to damage his skin more than it already was. The swelling had gone down which was both a good and bad thing. No doubt Gakuho would want to finish it as soon as possible.

By 5am Gakushu was back in the seat and Gakuho was dipping into the deep purples, reds, and yellows of the coiling centipedes.

It was a muggy sort of day. Warm but clouded with the chance of rain later in the day. The room too despite the open windows, was also stuffy. Gakuho slipped off his shirt revealing his own vast array of tattoos.

The smaller blonde distracted himself from the pain of his father’s words and the stab of the needle with attempting to decipher the tattoos he never knew his father had.

The tails of centipedes similar to the ones he branded on his pawns hung over his shoulders as they always had, coiling once before meeting between his shoulder blades in a terrifying monster of a face as it always had. But the almost cthulhu like horned demon face with drooping eyes, spewed a beard of tentacle centipedes stretching down to his hip on his left side. Down the left sleeve, from shoulder to elbow, a cutlass sword with several red droplets of tattooed blood. Below hat a weeping band of eyes and yet more bloody tears. Were they his victims from his earlier gang days? It was hard to imagine his father as anything but a leader.

His right however, painted a different story. A rather pathetic looking reaper. Scythe in one hand, and some sort of leaf in the other, shying away from three holy daggers.

Back to the right shoulder, a crumbling rubix cube. Something his father did frequently when discussing his ideals on education. Break the rules, make them your own. They all seemed rather old and with the bare stripe of skin down his front it seemed like something more akin to a yakuza tattoo.

Gakuho must have noticed him staring because he stopped what he was doing to inform him all but the centipede were done himself. A safety pin, a ballpoint pen, and several hours of self inflicted pain. If Gakushu thought his tattoo was torture, he was even weaker than he thought.

The words hit him hard as his father gestured for him to get up so they could eat once more.

1 o’clock rolled round and finally they were on the home stretch. Gakushu now lay face down on the reclined chair as Gakuho inked in the segment draping over his shoulder and curling around his shoulder blade. 

Gakuho’s ‘lesson’ however, was far from over, and the final four hours of tattooing and aftercare were just as brutal as the last.

“I defeated a black belt in karate three days after I began learning the martial art. I was thoroughly beaten on the first day. A man in his thirties, knocked me down numerous times. I puked and rolled all over the floor. I had never felt so demoralized.

“So, what do you think I did the second day? I just observed.  I continued to watch the karate master who had defeated me. While my body burned with rage and humiliation. If I lose again I’ll fall apart. If I lose again I’ll go crazy. The anger and fear helped me concentrate like never before.

“I stole the karate master's moves and I devised a plan to defeat him. On the third day, I defeated him without him even laying a finger on me. After that it was more of an internal battle against the fear of losing. The karate master lost his wits and rushed over to avenge himself on me and I continued to steal his moves as I defeated him over and over again.

“A few days later, I had improved so much it was like fighting a baby. _That_ is what it means to learn from defeat. But most people are all talk. They learn from losing quickly and forget they've ever been defeated. So, _Asano_ , why is it _you’re_ not on the verge of _killing yourself_ even though you've been _defeated_?”

*  *  *

5pm they were finally done and Gakuho had left Gakushu to his own devices. To dwell on his failures and the impact it would have from now on. He was fortune his father showed _some_ degree of mercy by branding the sins of others onto his right arm instead of the left.

2 chances on his right, 6 chances on his left.

Despite the pain of his aching arm, Gakushu rolled his sleeves down to hide the disfiguring marks. The fabric rubbed horribly against the fresh tattoo, having to brace himself against an empty hallway wall, biting his tongue and willing himself not to break. Not to show weakness.

Eventually he made it to Ren’s office to inform him he was going out for a walk, and not to expect him back that night.

Naturally Ren was concerned by his boss and best friend’s behaviour and pained look to his eyes. Gakushu Asano could fool a lot of people with his mask of confidence and power, but not in front of him.

By the time he had shoved his papers into folders under his desk and followed Gakushu out the office the blonde male was halfway down the flight of stairs. Following without a word, the duo had eventually accumulated a small following as they descended the five floors between Ren’s office and the ground floor.

It wasn’t until they reached the front door that Ren couldn’t take the silence any longer. Reaching out to grab him by the shoulder, he was surprised to see the look of agony twist itself on the other’s face.

It was no secret everyone had been wondering where the blonde haired Asano had been the previous 35 hours and given this type of reaction, Ren and many of the other’s assumed he’d been wounded during the territory war and, as stubborn as he was, had been ignoring the pain to continue working. This was furthered by no one recalling a doctor entering or exiting the building complex.

“Hey Gakushu, if you’re wounded you need to get it treated by a doctor right away. You won’t be doing anything if you come down with an infection.”

Ren tried to push the worry out of his voice as Gakushu weakly protested his action to take off his shirt. What he was met with however, was not what he’d expected. The collective gasp and murmuring of the crowd confirmed no one else had expected it either.

The flash of painfully fresh tattoos coiling over his shoulders. As cruel as Gakuho could be, no one really expected the golden boy to be punished just as much as they had been.

Carefully easing the shirt off the rest of the way, the two damming brandings stretching down the length of his arms came into view. One old, and one new. While it was not spoken aloud, it was clear the young Asano had won over the crowd in an instant. They were all fighting the same battle, to be good enough to be worthy of this territory.

“Gakushu...” Ren all but whispered in an almost silent apology for revealing such cruel marks to the crowd. He had no desire to humiliate him more than he already was.

“I have failed you as a leader and no one should be punished for my mistake. My father tortures us enough already, tonight will not see our colleagues’ blood on his hands.”

And with that simple statement, Gakushu carefully pulled his shirt back on and readjusted his tie and suspenders before walking through the two larger doors and into the rain.

Letting the cool droplets roll down his face, the pleasant sound of water hitting the infrastructure around him, it slowly dulled the pain in his arm and relaxed his pent up emotion.

“He’s crying.” One of the newest recruits mentions as Gakushu’s figure slowly disappeared from their field of vision and don into the incoming storm. Teppei was quick to dismiss the male’s claim, adjusting his glasses to reply, their boss was so much more than they deserved.

“You might want to get your eyesight checked, it is just the rain.”

“I believe it goes without saying, out of the two of them, Gakushu is the one we should be rallying behind. His claims to overthrow his father aren’t just fancy talk.” Natsuhiko mused, readjusting his own glasses and giving them a good once over wipe with his shirt.

“Ren, you’re the closest to Gakushu, get us up to date so we can prepare for a pushback.” Tomoya, the final of Gakushu’s four highest ranking officials, chimed in with a crowd of nods and determined faces around them.

Ren couldn’t help but smile.

“Meet me in my office in 20 minutes.”

*  *  *

He left the building at 5pm and within the first 30 minute the rain went from a pleasant shower to full on bucketing down. The sky overhead turned a cold gloomy grey and before long the sweltering heat mixed in and lightning cracked the sky.

The weather reflected how he felt. Angry and utterly miserable.

A 90 minute walk practically doubled. By the time he reached his destination, a territory away from his own, the stars were starting to come out and it was just past 8. Karma would be home by now right?

It felt awkward, going to his competitive rival for help. But out of the three other territories, the Akabane’s seemed the safest. If nothing else, Nagisa was here too. Perhaps he could just ask Nagisa to assassinate his father and pick up the pieces from there. The thought was more appealing than it should have been.

Nevertheless, his shivering was beginning to intensify from the cold and his soaked clothes, he reached up and pressed the doorbell.

Despite the lights inside, the wait seemed like forever. Just as the anxiety began to set in he was disturbing something private, that the two were intimate. The door opened.

“ _KARMA AKABANE!_ ” Came the startling, scolding sound from inside the house as Nagisa, dressed only in a much too short and thin bathrobe and boxers, long hair dripping wet as he peered into the lounge.

Karma on the other hand stood at the door in just his boxers as if this was the most normal thing in the world to answer the door. For a moment Gakushu was ignored.

“Do you _want_ to get killed? Let me answer the door you idiot.”

“It’s Gakushu though.” The redhead tried to protest. “If he was going to kill me he would have done so ages ago.”

“You didn’t even check before you opened the door!”

“He does have a point.” Gakushu pointed out, teeth beginning to chatter as the rain once more began to pick up and add to his misery. “Can I please come in?”

Like a switch being flipped, Karma’s attention turned back to the soggy mess of a boy. Ushering him in as Nagisa tossed him a fresh towel to pat him down and stop him dripping all over the carpet. Gakushu winced and it was a pathetic sort of sound Karma overlooked before pushing him in the direction of the shower.

“Go get warmed up, some dry clothes, then we can talk.”

Gakushu was confused by Karma’s behaviour but accepted it nonetheless, as Nagisa reappeared in the hallway door with a change of clothes. He was about to comment on Nagisa’s own predicament, he must have interrupted his shower, before the assassin cut him off.

“Karma can be quite the mother hen when he’s worried about someone. It’s unexpected of someone like him. You won’t come to any harm here.” He reassured the taller male with a smile before ushering them into the downstairs shower.

Closing the door behind them anxiety spiked as Gakushu feared for the briefest of moments that his blood would end up smeared over the tile wall, before Nagisa carefully cut open his shirt sleeve.

“That looks horrific.” He commented quietly, easing the shirt off and onto the floor.

“I have some ointment, I’ll leave it on the table when you’re done. The clothes should hopefully be loose enough not to hurt, the shower is finicky, don’t worry if it doesn’t stop dripping once you’re done, just give it a good tap and it will stop.”

Gakushu nodded in understanding. Letting the smaller male look over his tattoo. Given how large he presumed Nagisa’s were, he was probably more knowledgeable than himself.

Once Nagisa was done he left more or less without a word. Silently closing the door behind him and returning to the lounge with Karma.

“How’s he doing?” The redhead questioned, shifting to sit on Nagisa’s bed, deftly drying off his legs, arms, and torso as Nagisa stripped off the bathrobe while they talked.

“He should have quite the story to tell.” Nagisa admitted as Karma paid particular attention to drying his scar. Gently running the fluffy towel along the crease of sensitive skin before tending to the tips of his hair as Nagisa reached under his pillow for pjs.

“It seems whoever brands the Asano territory in those centipede tattoos has given him an almost complete sleeve on his right.”

Stripping off his faintly damp booty shorts to put on the much cooler garment as Karma dried and began to brush his hair, carefully untangling the thick strands.

“Are you sure? The Asano clan only display those marks on their left side? The whole ancient left-handed being sin sort of thing?”

“The situation must be different. He’s got brandings on both sides. The left seems to be much older than the right however. The right is very much fresh and painful. Whoever did it has detailed knowledge on tattoos to complete it over the weekend but was cruel enough to sink the needle in too deep. There’s swelling, redness, and the colours are so dark there’s no chance it could ever be covered.”

Nagisa leaned into Karma’s touch as his fingers massaged his scalp. The blend of the shower and the rolling storm outside was rather therapeutic and relaxing. He wasn’t in the mood for cooking, perhaps Karma could just order them pizza.

“Hair tied up or left out?” Karma asked while admiring his handiwork of flawless blue hair free of knots.

“Left out for now.” Nagisa replied pulling himself up to grab Karma’s phone from the table.

“Order us some pizza? I need to hunt through the cupboard for some ointment. The rain damaged whatever was put on Gakushu’s tattoo and he’s going to need something much stronger than that.”

Karma was content with the idea of pizza. Nothing beat delivered food and garlic bread. Except maybe Nagisa’s Friday night cooking.

It ended up being a case of going off to do your own thing because by the time the shower stopped and Nagisa returned, the doorbell was ringing once more as their dinner was delivered. The benefits of living three blocks down from a pizza place.

By the time Gakushu entered the lounge, Nagisa had helped Karma set up the table and arrange the boxes in order Hot chilli beef for Karma, Veg trio for Nagisa, Mr Wedge for Gakushu, a loaf of garlic bread each, and some chips piled in the middle of the table to share. It was nothing like the communal meals back home. There was no tension in the air or a need to perform. It was literally three... friends, sitting around a table eating pizza.

“About time you showed up, the pizza was going to get cold.” Karma teased before lounging back in his seat with the first slice of spicy unhealthy goodness.

“A Mr Wedge pizza.” Gakushu began, sinking into the sponginess of the sofa opposite Karma as he eyed the pizza. Nagisa slid onto the cushion next to him to begin massaging an ointment into his aching arm.

“You’re not fooling anyone, I’ve seen you ordering pizza and wedges then combining them when you think no one is looking.” Karma said in a tone that surprisingly lacked any hint of teasing. It was a simple fact and with a name like Mr Wedge, it was little wonder the almighty Gakushu felt awkward asking for his favourite pizza. “All pizza is good pizza.”

Gakushu could see the small smile on Nagisa’s face just moments before he declared himself done with tending to his arm.

Karma was right though. This particular pizza was his absolute favourite. A kind of terrible self indulgent mix of potato wedges, manuka smoked ham, red onion, mozzarella and oregano on a BBQ and garlic base, topped with mayonnaise.

“Except Karma’s pizza. His tastes like Satan's puckered asshole. I wish I could say wedges on a pizza is the worst thing that's happened to food in this house." Nagisa chuckled, giving Gakushu a playful wink as he resumed his seat. He’d just have to be careful not to put crumbs all over his bed.

Pulling out a stringy piece of his own delicious pizza. A simple combination of baby spinach, mushrooms and fresh tomato with oregano and mozzarella, a perfect vegetarian pizza not too heavy on his stomach or brutal on his breath.

“Well then Satan’s puckered asshole is delicious.” The redhead declared taking a rather exaggerated bite of his monster of a pizza. Ground beef, red onion, jalapenos and mozzarella topped with buffalo hot sauce and far too many chilli flakes that a human should ever be allowed to consume. If anything it meant no one ever touched Karma’s pizza which suited him just fine.

Gakushu had to fight the urge to laugh out loud at their childish antics. He felt much more relaxed in their company and soon enough was picking up his own slice and satisfying his growling stomach. 

It was comfortable. Sitting around the table eating pizza, drinking cola and listening to the pleasant soundtrack of one of Karma’s many games in the background. It was a kind of comfort that was severely lacking in every aspect of his life at home. It served to reaffirm his desire to overthrow his father and bring about change to the Northern territory. He wanted to be able to spend time like this with his gang too.

His thoughts were interrupted when Karma, already halfway through devouring his pizza, spoke up.

“So you gonna tell us why you popped round for a visit? It’s not a short walk here and you didn’t have any bodyguards.”

Gakushu was silent for a moment, finishing his mouthful before putting down his slice to wipe the crumbs from his face.

“I was going to inquire the price of hiring an assassin to kill my father.”

Karma cocked an eyebrow at the blonde male whose request seemed rather half hearted given the nature of it. Nagisa too had stopped eating. Pulling himself entirely onto the sofa bed to see the two properly.

The memory of that reaper on his father’s chest gnawed at his mind. There was no denying his father was an asshole who clearly derailed from the path of being a good parent, but simply erasing his father from the picture was not what he wished to do. Certainly it would be the easy option to begin a reform, but he knew what vacuum of power would be left in his father’s wake should he be knocked out of his throne.

Gakuho has a lot of friends in the North and elsewhere, an assassination orchestrated by his own son would likely leave a lot of bitter feelings and no doubt in the long run make his plans never come to pass with so many roadblocks in his way. While they could be overcome, it would cause more grief then it would good. A more passive exchange, beating his father back to his corner and giving him any other choice but to admit he’d lost would be a much more satisfying outcome.

His father’s public announcement of loss to his son would no doubt make the transition much smoother, his father could still be useful, and this way his mother would not weep for what the two men had become. Perhaps they too might be a family again and have pizza around the table just like those distant, suppressed memories of his childhood.

“But now I’m asking for a place to recover while I plan my next move. I’ll leave before noon if you will have me.”

His tone was so serious it almost had Karma rolling in fits of laughter. Instead he more or less kept his inner amusement down to his characteristic smirk and childish poking out of his tongue.

“Sure, just don’t burn the place down or murder me in my sleep and we’ll be cool.”

“Not that you could get to Karma if you wanted to.” Nagisa hummed playfully, the casual tone clearly disarming Gakushu, he looked at the two in confusion as Nagisa reached back to the table to grab his third slice of pizza and continue eating.

“That’s it? You’re letting me stay?” Gakushu blinked in confusion. His mind trying to make sense of the situation unravelling before him. They were enemies weren’t they? Or did Karma see them as friends? Friendly rivals perhaps? The latter two were appealing thoughts. Perhaps he’d misjudged Karma.

“Well I’m not about to toss you onto the streets at 10 o’clock at night when it’s still raining cats and dogs and your arm looks like a dog’s chew toy. No doubt you have some super secret martial arts training if you got into a fight, but why risk it? Stay here, chill with us, play some Mario Kart and have pizza. We have no plans for tomorrow.”

“Yes we do.” Nagisa interjected with pizza still in his mouth.

“ _Morning._ ” Karma finished and Nagisa gave him a childish grunt that meant ‘for you.

At that Gakushu couldn’t help but laugh. Nervousness, fear, anger, sadness, and anxiety. Everything just poured out in that laugh. It was so refreshing, to feel like he wasn’t being judged. Of course Karma was quick to break the mood.

“I didn’t know you could laugh like _that_. It’s cute!” Quick as a flash a brilliant blush coloured Gakushu’s cheeks as hands clamped over his mouth in embarrassment, wincing only slightly at the friction of his arm.

“That’s enough teasing, Karma.” Nagisa gently scolded. Closing the lid of his pizza box to store in the fridge as he made his way to the cupboard, pulling out a couple of blankets and  pillow, returning to the lounge to dump them at the end of Gakushu’s chosen couch.

“We don’t have any other rollout beds so the couch will have to do.” Nagisa explained and Karma soon got up to tidy the table as the makeshift bed was being made.

“We should play some videogames.” The redhead declared before disappearing upstairs to retrieve his laptop and cords. Gakushu looked to Nagisa who gave him a small ‘this happens often’ look. Reaching over to grab the borrowed pillow, the smaller male separated the comforting fluff from one of Karma’s long sleeved shirts.

It was easier to play games in a ground while sitting on Nagisa’s bed in terms of space and comfort, so he wouldn’t be snuggling under the sheets to keep warm any time soon. While the day had been muggy, but half 10 the temperature had quickly plummeted, and his smaller frame chilled significantly quicker than Karma.

Stripping off his singlet, Gakushu couldn’t help but stare as Nagisa’s beauty came into view. Colourful watermarked patterns adorning his left side. From his wrist, to his shoulder, down the curve of his back and spilling in waves onto his side, before continuing down past the hem of his shorts and down the back of his thigh. Nagisa must have caught him staring, in the next minute the other was facing him. Pulling the cheesy ‘Get a life’ Mario 1-up mushroom patterned top over his head and resting comfortably around his waist while saying, “Karma will get jealous if he catches you staring.”

Gakushu went to apologise for staring, and again for his role in the scar above his hip when Karma re-entered the room. Placing the laptop down on the table and flopping down on Nagisa’s bed as the smaller male vaulted over the back of the sofa bed to plug in the cords for power and bringing the desktop up on the big screen.

Joining him on the bed, Nagisa patted the sheets next to them in a silent gesture for Gakushu to join them. While hesitant at first, he soon came to join them.

Opening up the steam library, the trio were met with Karma’s rather extensive collection of PC games. Everything from Amnesia, GTA V, and Dishonoured, down to Audiosurf, Child of light, and Blade kitten, Karma had it all. The careful balance between buying a game at full price and making the most of Steam’s various yearly sales. While Karma had money to throw around like confetti, when it came to games that weren’t new release titles he’d been waiting years for, like The Last Guardian, he was conservative of how much and when he spent money on games for his collection.

Scrolling down the list of games Karma stopped on one of many otome games and opened it up with an excited ‘this one!’

The game booted up and Gakushu was more than a little concerned by Karma’s choice in videogames as cherry music played and pigeons appeared on title screen.

“Hatoful... boyfriend.” Gakushu spoke slowly. Even said out loud it still sounded ridiculous.

“I thought it was weird too, the story is actually really good.” Nagisa admitted, shuffling his way in-between the two males and leaning against them both and Karma swiped through the various save files with his controller.

Deciding his files were far too far through the story, Karma opted for starting a new game, affectionately naming the main character ‘Shuu-kun’ before reading the story, voices included, for everyone to hear.

The name choice may not have been the wisest of option, the main character sharing the same name as a character within the game Nagisa was very adamant on avoiding. “You can romance anyone, except him.”

They played it through taking turns as who got to choose the direction of the story with the slightest of biases towards whatever Gakushu’s comments were. They ended up converging on Ryouta’s romance and the golden haired boy slowly showed a much more caring side towards his virtual best friend. Giving the small bird a part time job instead of taking it himself, insistent he was more than capable to get another job and pay for the treatment of his bird friend’s sickly mother. 

It was a rather adorable side to Gakushu. The only way he was like his father was in his determination and pursue of excellence, but not in the same way as his father. Gakushu did not see his acquaintances as mere pawns like his father did; he saw them as friends and individuals that he wants to be able to talk to. In this way Nagisa saw the red and blonde boys’ similarities. While on the outside they may not appear to care, deep down they were both quite sensitive souls.

They managed to get through the game with only one death, much to Gakushu’s shock that a game like this had such a dark side to it, but managed to redeem themselves without having to go back more than two saves.  

Ryouta’s route was just as sad the second time as it was the first, and Nagisa admired the subtle signs that Gakushu was actually a little upset by the outcome of his pixel boyfriend.

After that they played an assortment of multiplayer games, taking turns to try and sabotage Nagisa’s incredible winning streak in time trials for Sonic the hedgehog by tag team pinning him in fits of protesting laughter to the bed so the time would go over and let at least _one_ of the two males beat his time in clearing a zone. Of course Nagisa let them win.

By the time they’d calmed down, it was after 12 and the three males were beginning to tire from extensive socialising. Wandering into the bathroom one by one to complete their nightly rituals.

Nagisa tossing the warm nerdy shirt into the cupboard before making his way back to bed. Tossing on his singlet and snuggling comfortably beneath the sheets, still warm from their collective body heat from hours of playing.

Gakushu too soon settled under the thin sheets. Simple pj pants to keep as much fabric off his arm as possible. It was comfortable despite the small size. He was used to a bed twice the size of this.

Karma on the other hand, packed up his gear, flicked the light off with a quick goodnight before heading upstairs to his own room. But whether it was anxiety or something else, the redhead soon reappeared in the lounge. Tossing his pillow and blankets onto the bed, flopping onto the sofa in a dramatic ‘hell I am here’ action.

“Got a little lonely did you?” Nagisa teased, eyes almost glowing under the light of Karma’s phone.

“Something like that.” He replied, twisting his body to face Nagisa before curling up to sleep. Gakushu was out like a light before Karma had even finished shuffling about, soon followed by the redhead. All in all it was a rather pleasant, if unexpected, night of fun. No doubt Gakushu would want to talk in the morning. With that in mind Nagisa set his alarm and fell into sleep’s embrace.

*  *  *

Gakushu woke to the comforting embrace of another at his side. Legs tangled together and breaths intermingling as two bodies hugged each other for warmth and security.

Bringing his hand up to caress the thick long locks of hair, the smaller male hummed sleepily in approval before opening his big blue eyes. Gakushu felt he could drown in those eyes, stare at them forever. But soon enough they were hidden from view as they began to kiss.

Sweet and passionate, muffled gasps and moans escaping their lips as they kiss and bite, delving deeper and deeper in each other until they were flushed and pulling back for air.

“How cruel to get me so riled up first thing in the morning, Shu-kun.”

Gakushu couldn’t help but smile as his lover mounted his larger frame and gently grinding their hips together.

Wasting no time in peppering his neck with kisses and bites, working his way up to the black band of his collar to tug at the metal ring with his teeth and enticing out the most erotic gasp he’d ever heard.

“You’re so beautiful.”

“We better be having sex this morning.” Came the breathless reply as Gakushu slid his fingers down the other’s cute shirt, under the hem of his skirt, and wrapping them around the hardening length and giving up an experimental jerk. He looked so damn hot in that skirt.

Pleasuring him in long, coaxing, downward strokes of his length slowly building up a steadily pace as the blue haired male bucked and moaned into the touch. Caught between the spine tingling feeling ping of his collar and the heavenly touch around his weeping cock as he tried not to drool on the male beneath him.

Gakushu waited until the precome collected readily from his slit before swiping it off with his fingers Carefully retrieving his hand from Nagisa's skirt, and pressing the sticky white liquid to the others lips.

"Does the kitten want some milk?" He cooed, admiring the pink tongue licking at his fingers before taking them into his mouth and sucking deeply with a lewd moan, rocking himself against harder Gakushu trying to achieve more friction on his now neglected cock.

“Gakushu, _please_.” The plead was so desperate Gakushu could feel his cock witch in anticipation.

Despite his inexperience in the bedroom, his 'skill' simply built on what he was taught for sex education and the stories Ren would tell him after a particularly adventurous night, his body seemed to be moving on its own, somehow knowing what to do.

He reached over to grab the lube from the bottom draw, he’d hid it there after Ren having given him a bottle in case he ever did bring someone back to his room... hang on. This was his bed.

His thoughts were interrupted as Nagisa pulled him back into a kiss, rolling them over so the golden boy was on top, begging him to hurry up and do him, he was already prepared.

"I'll even keep the skirt on for you."

Before he knew what was going on he was filling Nagisa up. Rocking his hips in perfect synch with the other's bucks so Nagisa achieved maximum penetration on Gakushu's hard, lengthy cock, ramming into his prostate with each and every thrust.

 _"H-harder!"_ He begged as if Gakushu wasn't already ruining him enough. Adjusting his knees to dig into the firm mattress giving him leverage before ploughing back in with enough momentum Nagisa was crying out in ecstasy. The headboard slamming against the wall as the smaller male inched his was at a snail’s pace towards it. Saliva dribbling from the corner of his mouth as Gakushu willingly fucked him to hell and back.

As Nagisa warned him of his impending orgasm, Gakushu's hand slipped between them to cup his cock.

Nagisa's back arched and a strangled cry fell from his lips in a phantom orgasm as Gakushu denied him release.

Fingernails raking across the other's shoulder and back, Nagisa begged him for release as over stimulation brought him to the brink of tears. Gakushu didn't want this to end, he wanted to keep the other on the edge, pleasured by _him_ and him only like no one else could.

Nagisa's body's second attempt for release came not long afterwards and to his relief, Gakushu loosened his grip, gently milking each and every drop of cum from him.

His moan was loud and long as exhaustion overcame his small body, almost melting back against the sheets as Gakushu leaned in to kiss and caress his hair in an affectionate way.

"You haven't come yet," Nagisa said a little breathlessly. "Let me help you with that."

Soon enough Nagisa took control of the kiss, filling him with joy and love as their positions were flipped once more.

From this position Gakushu could admire the flawless, unmarked skin peaking out beneath his clothes. The skirt so short and scandalous, his position caused the fabric to ride up in a way that barely concealed his cock, revealing so much of his beautiful legs and thighs the blonde couldn't help but reach out and give an affectionate squeeze.

"Would you rather I sit on your face?" Nagisa giggled cutely. He was fully aware of Gakushu's desire to worship his body, particularly his legs. It was why he liked the skirt so much.

"Afterwards perhaps, if you're up for more. I'd like to come."

"Of course." He smiled before shuffling forward up the taller male's chest and unfastening the bracelets from his wrists and putting them around Gakushu's. They fit perfectly which seemed weird since they fit snugly on Nagisa who was noticeably smaller.

"I saw the way you stare at them, wanting to tie me up and make me yours. So," He began, coaxing the other to slide back just a little so he could bind his hands together to the headboard. "I figure you should wear them, and I'll make you feel as good as you make me feel."

Gakushu was usually opposed to the idea of being subdued in such a way, but Nagisa was an anomaly in his system, causing him to forget his surroundings and to focus entirely on him instead.

  
They were kissing again, long and sweet, and Gakushu almost hated not being able to wrap his arms around the smaller male's neck and hold him closer.

That issue, like many others it seemed, was lost to the wind as Nagisa's ass greedily took in every inch of his cock once more.

He barely had time to adjust before they were at it again. Nagisa dragging his ass in an almost torturously slow pace up and down the length of his cock as if he thought the slower pace would make it feel like his cock would go on forever.

To Gakushu it certainly felt like it. Nagisa endlessly trying to take in the unending length of his cock.

It was heaven and hell all mixed into one.

Much to his relief a few bucks of his hips in silent desperation were enough to coax a more satisfying pace.

But it wasn't satisfying enough. Not in the sense of what he was doing, but in the sense of he was feeling nothing. Nagisa had been moaning and writhing in pleasure so why wasn't he? Sex is supposed to be pleasurable wasn't it? So why did he feel numb to everything around him? Even the occasional ass squeeze from Ren made him feel more than this. Was something wrong with _him?_

A feeling akin to the dread of being watched washed over him as he finally took not of his surroundings. It was his room but it wasn't at the same time. The pictures were blurred and the door seemed to open into darkness. Had the door always been open?

Then came the feeling of emptiness as Nagisa vanished from the bed and a burning like the branding of a fresh tattoo on his skin, the beautiful phoenix adorning his arms began to writhe. His shoulders itched and the most disturbing skittering sound send ripples through his body.

Hidden centipedes curled around his shoulder blades moved in synch as they crept over his shoulders and around their mythical bird.

He wanted to tear at the creatures beneath his skin but the bonds were too tight. Playful bondage now felt like iron cuffs and he writhed in fear. This was a nightmare.

Before he could get his bearings, the ground began to dissolve beneath him and what looked like tentacles from the void below reached up and swallowed him whole. 

Everything was black. He swore his eyes were open but there was nothing as far as the eye could see. A switch was flicked and in an instant he was back in his father's tattoo chair, the light above revealing horrific disfiguring markings covering his skin.

_“You’re pathetic.”_

Gakushu could _feel_ the life draining from his face at his father’s words. The worst part was not knowing where the words were coming from, where was his father in this darkness? The light above was barely enough to see his body and even then, the brandings were so thick with blacks and purples he almost couldn’t tell where his body ended and the darkness began.

_“Unworthy of the Asano name.”_

The tattoos seemed to draw themselves on his body, without seeing it himself, Gakushu just _knew_ the invisible needle was being dipped in ink refilled at a constant pace by the venomous poison of his father's words.

“Stop!” Gakushu screamed into the void.

His father’s condescending laugh resonated through the black, bouncing off the walls and echoing in his mind. He wasn’t begging his father to stop. He knew already that would not save him, instead he begged for the dream to end.

But the dream would not end.

Tears flowed freely from his eyes as his body refused to listen to him, paralyzed by the pain and fear as those words continued to assault him. Tearing at his mind like a parasitic tumour. He had to cut it off.

_“How disappointing, look at your failures. There’s enough to brand your body.”_

His vision was blurring and warping as he stared into the reflective surface that showed him the marks. He was covered from head to toe, the only untouched skin being the hair on his head. He looked nothing like himself, he looked like a monster.

_“You know what happens to individuals who fail too many times.”_

“Stop, stop, stop.” He repeated in desperation like a broken record. If you die in a dream you die in real life don’t you?

He could hear the footsteps growing closer to the table. The unsheathing of a sharpened blade. His heart was beating so erratically. He couldn’t breathe. He needed to wake up.

Before… before…

*  *  *

Gakushu woke in a cold sweat, body curling in the sheets so quickly they bunched around his arm in a tangled mess. Dragging along the sensitive skin and causing him to bite his tongue to prevent the pained yelp that threatened to wake the neighborhood.

Breathing heavy as he tried to keep his noise level down and calm his trembling body least he wake the others. There were noises. But the noises however, were not just his own. Carefully rolling over in what he hoped would be a convincing display of shifting in his sleep, he was met with a rather curious scene. 

The beautiful, yet deadly Nagisa Shiota caught his pillow in a death grip between his arms and legs. A pained look over his feverish face as he whined and moaned almost desperately and not in the pleasant sort of way either.  Broken sentences fell from his lips. Fragments of ‘mother no,’ ‘please,’ ‘stop,’ and the more coherent ‘leave me alone.’ Gakushu’s mind sent him mixed messages, the moaning was arousing his already embarrassing situation even more, but guilt stabbed in his chest like pins into a voodoo doll with each and every plead from the suffering male.

Just as he was about wake the other up there was more rustling of sheets as a drowsy Karma looked over at the noise. Wrapping the blanket around him like a cape, the redhead dragging himself up on the arm of the sofa to reach out and gently run his fingers through Nagisa’s blue hair.

Much to his surprise, the small assassin didn’t stir at Karma’s touch. Instead with that looked like calculated precision, the soothing gesture lulled Nagisa back into a more comfortable sleep. The moans silenced, and the pleads soon died down too, until eventually his hold relaxed and his breathing returned to normal.

As Karma lay there half asleep, fingers still massaging his scalp, Gakushu couldn’t help but wonder how often this occurred. In reality he knew so little about Nagisa, nor his relationship with Karma. The more he thought and dwelled upon it, the more it seemed foolish to be chasing such an ethereal being. First crushes were horrible. Despite evidence to the contrary he kept holding on to the faint hope he might end up with Nagisa, or at least have a relationship as caring as whatever was blooming between him and Karma.

Karma must have dozed off because the next thing he knew, Karma was looking around in confusion before sliding back into his pillows to doze off once more. When Nagisa continued to sleep peacefully Gakushu too went back to sleep.

*  *  *

Gakushu was shocked to find he slept in well past his body clock’s usual 5am start, instead waking at seven to the sun already rising in the sky.

Nagisa was dressed in his usual attire, brown pants, red shirt, cream waistcoat and tie, an apron overtop as he prepared what he could only assume was plans for a slow cooker dinner. It didn’t take long for the smaller male to notice his presence. Slipping out of bed, Gakushu made his way to the counter to find Nagisa had once more left a small bottle of ointment to rub into his arm.

“I haven’t prepared breakfast yet sorry. Karma doesn’t wake until nine at the earliest on his days off.” He said with an apologetic smile.

Gakushu wasted no time in rubbing the ointment into his arm, it was significantly less swollen and sore today, whatever was in Nagisa’s magical ointment bottle certainly did wonders combating the agony of his father’s work.

Putting the last of the dish into the slow cooker and leaving it to sit, Nagisa silently washed up so not to wake the redhead sleeping some three or four meters away. Arm slung over the side of the sofa and head buried beneath the sheets to block out the light. Karma needed his sleep especially after a night of socialising.

“Any preferences for breakfast?”

“Muesli?”

Nagisa had to suppress a chuckle while putting back the large bowls. Teasing Gakushu on how unoriginal he was as he poured two bowls of muesli and pulled up the barstools to sit next to him to eat.

The silence was tense and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to notice that Gakushu was on the verge of spilling his long suppressed thoughts. Still Nagisa patiently waited until finally, the younger male began to speak.

“You know, many believe these marks are done by an anonymous sadist within the Asano territory. But the truth is, whenever we fuck up, it’s my father who brands us. Hours of torture as he weaves us with criticism for our actions, how we need to better ourselves if we ever hope to be worth something, and when we fair too many times. He sends an assassin after us.

“Losing that territory to Karma, my father expected a flawless victory and I failed him. He wanted to take that out on everyone that was there. I would have lost two of my closest followers... _friends_.

“Nagisa. May I ask you something?”

Nagisa gave him a nod of approval and Gakushu took in a deep, calming breath trying to calm his nerves.

“Honestly, do you think I can overthrow my father?”

“Not by yourself.” Came the startling blunt reply. He hadn’t meant to be that blunt about it. Still Gakushu seemed to understand where Nagisa was coming from.

“I see.”

“It will not be easy, but yes, I believe it is possible for you to overthrow him, if you are willing to be the leader your father is not. You came here not only to escape and recollect your thoughts Gakushu. You came here seeking an ally. Surely you’re aware of it already, taking the fall for your friends, they look up to you, they will follow you to the end of the Earth if you continue to be this person who wants change for the better. It’s a cause I believe everyone at the table could get behind. Gakuho is a threat to us all, he seeks to claim territory through force and be the undivided ruler of it all.” Reaching over to take Gakushu’s hand in his own, Nagisa caressed his fingers in a reassuring notion and smiled.

“People do not like their freedom taken away from them, Gakushu. Even you know that.”

Once breakfast was done and dusted, Gakushu helped clean up and borrowed a spare shirt and jacket from one of Karma’s previous bodyguards that would actually fit him, Nagisa was far too small to lend clothes to either of the males, and an umbrella in case the heavens decided to dump another bucket of water on him, Gakushu made his way to the front door.

Shaking Karma awake, the drowsy redhead tried to pull the covers back over his face before Nagisa pulled them off once more.

“Gakushu’s heading out, at least say goodbye.”

It took a moment the redhead to focus on what was happening.

“Tell him... not... to forget his pizza... brough..t it for him...no take backs...”

“Tell him yourself.” Nagisa insisted, ruffling his hair and standing back up to retrieve the pizza from the fridge. He’d put it into a less conspicuous box for easy storage and hiding, Gakushu was most grateful for this.

Karma waved the blonde boy off with a short ‘later’ before wrapping himself back up in his blanket burrito.

“Keep safe on your way back.”

“I will, thank you both. I’ll see you at the next meeting.”


	11. October

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They are very trashy gays lol.  
> 

It was an odd sensation but a welcome one nevertheless when Nagisa had a day off. Occasionally he'd find himself in town catching up with a colleague or a member from another territory, but other days he opted to stay home. Karma would be out to spend the day with his father and in turn he'd have the whole house to himself.

The temporary break in contract meant a break in formalities. Sleeping in till 10, enjoying a steaming hot bath with his secret collection of bath bombs, and enjoying a glass or two of his favourite wine to relax his body. It was a drink that he would never have on the job. It'd spoil the appeal.

His attire too was minimal. Loose short shorts that rode up his thighs whenever he sat in a less than professional position, a shirt that must have been 4 times the size of him that would slide off his shoulder without fail, one of those cheap $2 hair ties with assorted balls attached to the ends holding his fringe back allowing him to see, and on the rare occasion the choker and bracelets from their time at the Charity Event.

Naturally Karma was not supposed to see him like this. But sure enough there had been a time his father had to cancel their plans and a curious Karma opted to go home rather than organize meeting with friends or hitting the video game store.

The sight of Nagisa had him staring about as much, if not more, than when he would get Nagisa to play 'dress up' for the events he feigned being his girlfriend.

The mildly startled 'what are you doing here?' Shortly met with a responding 'honestly, trying not to jump you.'

Nagisa had snorted thinking his presentation was hardly attractive but soon left the other to gawk at him while he resumed his break.

Then came the inevitable realization and half joking tease that technically he wasn't a client on Nagisa’s day off and Nagisa giving him an affectionate hair ruffle telling him that he knows it’s hard but try not to make anyone so aggravated they murder you.

'So you won't go down to the pub for a quick screw?' He asked with a bit more nervousness than he would have liked.

Nagisa simply gave him a wide-eyed look and saying that he'd better not, his boss kinda has a crush on him and he's super single-minded so he doesn't want to risk an innocent getting caught up in his jealousy.

The redhead laughed it off but was undeniably glad he other wouldn't hook up with anyone on his breaks. Thinking about it screwing someone on your day off when your career revolves around sex would be a little counterproductive but still, he had to be sure.

Against the nagging voice telling him to just leave Nagisa on these days, Karma found himself asking the other's permission to spend the day with him.

Nagisa wouldn't even ponder the question anymore before nodding his approval. Karma would usually spend the day on the adjacent couch reading or playing his DS but now they shared the same couch, Karma sitting back against the cushions and Nagisa leaning against his side or draped over his lap.

Karma treasured those moments. Nagisa let him play with his hair and it just felt so normal.

The alcohol meant Nagisa was also more playful than usual. Calling Karma over to use him as a seat, resting over his arms till the redhead paid attention to him instead of his game, poking him in the side playfully from the other end of the couch with his foot, tugging up small points of hair to pretend Karma had devil horns, among other things. It was an incredibly childish and adorable side to Nagisa that lead them to their current predicament.

Nagisa straddling Karma's lap, his oversized shirt swung over the redhead confirming Karma's initial theory they both could fit, and Nagisa giggling as he looked down at Karma's confused expression peeking out from under the neck hole.

The affection swelled in Karma's chest and before he knew it, his brain to mouth filter shut off as he heard himself say, "I really do love you."

Nagisa's heart skipped a beat as he fought back the rising heat in his cheeks.

Karma found himself unable to look away without burying his face in the other's chest. He hadn't meant for the words to slip but they had and now he was trying to deny their existence.

He was embarrassed at how easily those words fell. Without a hint of bedroom talk and instead perhaps the most genuine five words he had ever spoken in his life.

He couldn't look away and neither could Nagisa.

Nagisa had come to the realization and acceptance of his feelings towards his client, but despite how much he adored his idiot of a redhead. It wasn't something he could bring himself to say back. It felt too early. Too early to say I love you too. The smallest thread of anxiety tugged his heart, if he said it, would he ever be able to go back to his previous life.

It was something he'd been thinking about. Comparing the life now to his life before. It wasn't as if he hated his life as an assassin, but the warmth of the year so far, the people he had met and the friends he had made. It wasn't something he wanted to give up. He didn't want to leave this town. He didn't want to leave Karma.

"W-we should get some lunch." Nagisa forced out as Karma jumped at the chance to change the topic.

Removing himself from Karma's lap the duo made off to the kitchen silently grateful neither brought up incident after that.

*  *  *

Nagisa had slipped on the grey and black stockings with their matching lacy panties and garter belt just after lunch. It was a test of his willpower to see if he could last the rest of the day and long enough for coax Karma to the bedroom under the pretence he'd won a prize. Which he had there was no doubt about that, the smaller male had just been putting the victory off due to his own discomfort.

Despite how often he'd worn clothing of the feminine sort there had always been a difference between the feeling of wearing it for work and the feeling of wearing them casually.

Bitchsensei had long since crushed his fear of wearing them on the job, she made him feel empowered and in control, seducing men and women alike, slipping into their beds and pants before slipping a fatal blow. Casually however, simply brought back a cascade of unwanted memories of his youth and having a gender forced upon him. No matter how many times he told himself and his mother 'stop, I'm not a girl, I'm a boy' she'd fly off the handle and force gender upon him even more.

Even now he couldn't force himself to see this reward as just another job, it wasn't a onetime thing either,  in general it had become almost impossible to do anything with Karma under the belief it was simply business.

He trusted Karma not to mock his gender, for all his teasing in the world the redhead was very careful not to overstep a boundary and hurt him in any way and all jokes about a gender swap vanished as soon as he learnt what his mother threatened to do with the scissors.

Having finished dinner Karma had retreated to his room to read over the progress report of his internship to see what he could improve and that's when Nagisa decided to strike.

Silently making his way up the stairs he knocked twice asking permission to enter and even it was accepted, he took in a deep breath to settle his nerves and entered as if it were any other day.

Karma was sitting atop his bed having discarded the papers to pick up his blue DS and play some games. Hopefully he wasn’t interrupting his gaming time. Reports were always a stressful time for the redhead even if he didn’t show it and he did not wish to add to that stress.

“Am I interrupting anything?”

“Never,” Karma replied quickly. Yes he was interrupting something but not enough for Nagisa to be dismissed. The report must have been pretty good, an improvement from the last one, Karma didn’t want to talk to him for the whole day and spent almost twice as long at his internship the next three nights to correct the finer points. Despite his seemingly carefree nature, Karma cared very deeply for his career. “What can I do for you?”

“I should be the one saying that.” Nagisa hummed, slowly crossing the room and stripping his clothes as he went. Much to his delight Karma was already ogling his body, mapping out every curve and scar he’d come to know so well, at this point he wondered if the redhead knew him as well if not better than Irina.

“I don’t know what’s going on but I’m liking what I see.”

“I think you’ll like it more in a moment.” He emphasized by kneeling into the end of the bed and straightening his posture as much as possible before undoing his belt and unzipping his pants to reveal just the top of his lacy garter belt.

In an instant Karma’s eyes were glued to the fabric as he watched in silence as Nagisa tauntingly slid the fabric down to his knees revealing the full garter belt, panty, and stocking set with just the fainted tent of arousal to complete the picture. Kicking his pants of as he all but crawled across the bed and into Karma’s lap. Straddling his waist and placing his hands on the taller male’s shoulders as he spoke.

“What do you want to do with me, Karma?” Nagisa teased in probably the most alluring tone he’d ever used in the bedroom, to the point the redhead almost felt guilty that sex was the last thing on his mind.

He swallowed hard and tried to compose himself. A blush lightly dusting his face as he nerves slowly crept back in.

“I want to take photos of you.”

Nagisa quirked a curious eyebrow, pulling back to sit in the other’s lap. It suddenly felt a little awkward having his dick in Karma’s face.

“Wait. You don’t want to fuck me in this?”  He inquired, shifting sensually in Karma’s lap to gauge whether he was alluding to foreplay or if he was being really genuine. The small amount of discomfort that wiggled its way into his nervous fidgeting however made his request seem believable. “That’s not what I was expecting at all.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“Why would you think that?”

Now Karma was shifting back further against his headboard like a cornered mouse.

“Well. My previous partners weren’t particularly... _impressed_ that I don’t have any desire to have sex when they’re wearing pretty lingerie. I prefer admiring the clothing and the way it fits onto the body. Do you know how hard it is to get stains out of these?” He emphasised with a delicate snap of elastic against Nagisa’s hip.

“I do actually.” Nagisa replied. This was far from the first time he’d worn such clothing. Except that involved abuse and exploitation of his body and ended with either a bullet between the eyes or a knife between the ribs.

“When you’re spending $86.36 on something cute and fashionable it seems a waste to wear it once then have it ruined.  You never get to enjoy the article more than once. I’d never wear it personally but I adore seeing others wearing such attractive clothing, men and women alike. Of course though,” He laughed a little more like his normal self. “Men are a bit more reluctant to however.”

“I guess I’m a real catch then.” Nagisa giggled cutely, placing a tender, comforting kiss to Karma’s forehead, sitting down in front of the other and Karma gave him the more attractive, sincere smile.

“I’ve known that from day one, Nagi. It just took me a while to appreciate it fully.”

“Sweet talker.” Nagisa poked out his tongue in a similar fashion to the redhead’s signature gesture before scooting back and lying down on the sheets, poking Karma’s side with his foot before catching him behind the head and tugging him gently forward. “So Mr. Photographer, how would you like me to pose for you?”

*  *  *

To Nagisa’s surprise, Karma got as into their photo shoot session as any other photographer he’d dealt with in the past. Perhaps even as picky as Bitchsensei.

It was as fun as it was embarrassing, having such an intimate kind of relationship with the male where situations like this would normally be of a more sexual nature turning into something where Karma was quite literally worshipping his body. He could feel Karma’s affection and awe basking him from head to toe in a blanket of warmth. The feeling of such pure, genuine _love_ was earth shattering.

He posed for Karma in everything from pinup to self indulgent but he could tell Karma was not quite satisfied. Despite the appreciative grin on his face there was still a hint of nervousness in his eyes.

Nagisa tried to gauge what pose Karma liked best, but nothing he did seemed to hit the mark. So finally, pulling himself up by the scuff of Karma’s shirt and asked, “Karma, I’m not going to be offended, tell me what that sinful little position you want me in most.”

Karma’s heart skipped and he swallowed harshly. Hand on his phone shaking as he bit his lip. Would Nagisa really be okay with this? He knew Nagisa wouldn’t do anything he didn’t want to and he had a decent grasp on the male’s boundaries by this point, but still he didn’t want to push to far as to hurting Nagisa in any way.

Getting off the bed and onto the carpeted floor, gesturing for Nagisa to follow him down and straddle his waist. His face was growing exceptionally flushed.

“Now stand up.” His voice was quiet and still Nagisa followed along. Gently tapping his calves and bringing him closer, stopping just before his shoulders so the redhead could bring his phone into position.

He could tell the camera wasn’t on and Karma had adverted his gaze in what he couldn’t quite pin whether it was embarrassment or shame at his voyeuristic side. The booty grabbing suddenly made a lot more sense. He probably didn’t think he’d get away with it but the desire was there. No wonder he liked seeing Nagisa in skirts, they’d make for the perfect panty shots.

The disappointment on the redhead’s face when he assumed Karma was picking skirts for himself. The meetings in which Karma wanted to dress him when they were still playing boyfriend and girlfriend. Everything made so much sense he couldn’t help but break into fits of giggling. The laughing filling him so much he slumped to his knees and sat on Karma’s chest.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, you’re just, so adorable you kinky devil.” He confessed in an attempt to calm the others distressed expression.

“You’re not angry with me?”

“I’ll put on a skirt if it completes the picture for you. On the condition that you never show anyone else it’s... kinda embarrassing... I don’t like wearing traditionally feminine clothing that much. But for you, I don’t mind every now and then.” Nagisa’s voice grew quiet the more he talked. How unprofessional of him to get so embarrassed, guess this is what becoming human and growing so painfully attached did to people.

“I’ll make it worth it.” Karma promised as Nagisa crossed the room to Karma’s ridiculously large wardrobe, it was big enough to put Akari to shame, and retrieve a short black, gathered skirt that barely reached midthigh. It matched well with his grey and black themed tights.

Returning to find Karma swiping through his photos, Nagisa dropped to catch a peek.

“You know maybe Rio was on to something. You do have some promise as a photographer.”

“I take enough photos.” Karma joked as Nagisa resumed his spot above him.

“Then you better get my good side.”

“Nagi, every side is your good side.” Face still a blushing crimson red, Karma got back to taking photos. He’d never had the pleasure of getting this far with anyone he was at a bit of a loss. Nagisa was so perfect.

If anything the most embarrassing part was the fact Karma had left the camera shutter volume on so each and every snap echoed throughout the quiet room. Why did Karma choose now of all day not to have any background music playing?

Then came the barely audible ‘step on me’ and Nagisa decided it was time to play. Following through the quiet plead and balancing his foot over Karma’s chest, feeling the pulse quicken immediately as he posed his body in just the right way to give Karma his ultimate indulgent photo.

That was, until Nagisa bit his lip, quietly moaning Karma’s name in the most erotic way and Karma was hiding his face behind shaking hands as he all but _groaned_ in response. Pants growing tight, this was the first time he’d ever actually been aroused to such an extent while indulging his sinful hobby. Peeking between his arms, it was almost impossible to distinguish between his hair and face, as Nagisa came to his knees. His crotch so close to Karma’s face the taller male swore he was about to die from embarrassment, arousal, or probably both.

“Karma don’t you want to look at me?” He teased in the sweetest of tones and Karma had never been more confused about his predicament.  At some point his judgment got the better of him and by the time his phone had slid to floor, his fingers wormed their way to cup his ass and pull him close.

Nagisa couldn’t see Karma’s face beneath his skirt but he could _feel_ the other _nuzzling_ against the fabric, his lips _kissing_ his balls, and then his teeth _nibbling_ at his tip. He couldn’t help the gasp of pleasure nor the buck of his hips against Karma’s face as he all but fell on top of the other.

“Nagisa, _please_ ,” Came the muffled begging as Nagisa practically sat on his face. “Please take these off and let me fuck you, or you fuck me, either or I don’t care, I _need_ you _now_.”

He couldn’t really say no to that, he was just as arousal as Karma and this outfit was not helping in the slightest. Perhaps he should treat Karma though, give him something to remember since he didn’t want sex with the lingerie on.

His focus turned to Karma’s full length mirror.

Well. Karma did express interest when he told the story of a client who fucked him against a mirror and joked he wouldn’t mind if Nagisa fucked him in front of one. Then he could watch Karma as Karma watched him. It was a win win situation.

“Help me out of these, I’ve got an idea I think you might like.”

Nagisa told him nothing as he carefully rolled the stockings down his lithe legs nor did he answer Karma’s question as he brought them closer to his desk.

“Sit down.”

Karma obeyed.

Then Nagisa followed suit, sitting down behind him and pressing his chest against Karma’s back, turning them in an almost awkward shuffle until Karma came face to face with his reflection in the mirror and time seemed to stand still as realization dawned upon him.

Nagisa giggled in his ear as Karma’s cock twitched.

Turning his head back to catch Nagisa’s almost ‘child at Christmas’ look on his face as he peered over Karma’s shoulder, appreciating the image before them as his legs coiled around Karma and his hands began to spread his legs.

“Open them up, Karma. I want to see all of you.”

Karma groaned in appreciation. Opening his leg and hooking them around the only comfortable, and practical place. Either side of the mirror.

The image became even more arousing as Nagisa pulled him into his lap.

“Are you serious?” Karma breathed, his heart rate quickening to a near defending in his ears. He must be shouting. Nagisa’s response was to snake a hand around and teasingly stroke lube coated fingers along the skin between his ass and balls. 

Karma gasped in the neediest way. Biting his lip as Nagisa continued his touch up the underside of his cock, before trailing back down and dipping just slightly into his ass.

“Karma, do you not want to watch?” Nagisa giggled. Supporting Karma against his side, he wasn’t quite tall enough to comfortably rest his chin on the redhead’s in this position, but easy enough to place kisses and bites over his shoulder and neck and most importantly, watch Karma squirm under his touch.

“You could come just from this couldn’t you? You’re so sensitive down here.” Karma’s body tried to shy away from the comments, close his legs and hide from the image of Nagisa’s fingers so calmly teasing his skin, talking to him in that sweet, seductive voice.  But he couldn’t. The curse of long legs meant there was no way he could hide away.

“It’s so cute, look at the way your body shy’s away from my touch. You spend so much time admiring my body, but I wonder how often you’ve stopped to admire yours.”

Karma mewled weakly, squeezing his eyes shut against the onslaught of words. He had no reason to believe Nagisa was making it up, but the genuine way he seemed to worship his body as he did Nagisa’s, it broke his well refined mask of confidence and tore down his walls to reveal an individual whose anxiety would tear him down. Destroy any confidence he had in himself. People would say he looked attractive but his personality would often drive people away. If he let out his anxieties would that make him even more unattractive? Would people just ignore him altogether?

He acted out because his intelligence meant he was cut off from the world of those who struggled, much in the same way as Rio once had. He acted out because it meant people would take notice of him. Remember he existed. That he was _here_ and that he _mattered_ in the world that always felt too large to someone who felt like a speck of dust.

He couldn’t handle the idea of his effort being forgotten or ignored, so he built up an image to live up to, the intelligent troublemaker that had no issue crippling fear of loneliness.

Yet here Nagisa was, admiring each and every part of him.

“Your body so eagerly leaning to my touch, waiting for what I might do next.” Stroking up to gently thumb over the head of his cock.

“The expressions that grace your face and the smiles you reserve only for me.” Kissing along his shoulder and up his neck before nibbling gently on the lobe of his ear enticing a soft moan and greater flush upon his face.

“These cute little fangs.” He giggled poking the sharp tooth biting into his lip as the other struggled to keep quiet.

“And, while I will forever be envious of it,” Bringing his wandering hand back down to the top of Karma’s knee and caressing the toned muscle all the way down to squeeze his ass. “This ridiculous height of yours. I love your stature, and pulling you down to kiss me so sweetly, or roughly.” He chuckled, pressing himself flush and wrapping his arms around Karma’s waist to hum in appreciation of Karma’s body.

“Every part of you is something to worship.” He whispered genuinely, feeling the knots of Karma’s body begin to unravel as he grew more relaxed. He’d liked the idea of sex like this, but like many times Nagisa admired his body during sex, he could feel the anxiety that appeared to be worse than his. Even now with relatively regular sexual encounters, the duo experienced a sense of stage fright in their attachment and whether they were worthy of the other.

After a moment of silence, simply enjoying each other’s company, Nagisa’s fingers began to move again, coating them in a new layer of lube before teasing at the rim of Karma’s entrance and slicking up his own cock.

“You won’t be able to see much if you keep your eyes closed, Karma.” His voiced took back its playful tone as Karma forced himself to sneak a peek as Nagisa slipped a finger in, carefully monitoring Karma’s reaction and stopping whenever his eyes squeezed shut again.

Eventually Karma’s arousal got the better of him and he was soon watching Nagisa’s fingers slipping in and out of his ass, scissoring his walls and preparing him for what he wanted since the teasing blue haired boy managed to stir him to arousal in their photo session.

“I know you want me to touch that sweet spot of yours, but wouldn’t you prefer me to ram something harder against it?” He taunted as Karma started fucking himself against Nagisa’s fingers, shifting ever so slightly just _hoping_ Nagisa would give him even more pleasure. But he wasn’t the one in control here.

“You’re pulsing Karma, trying to suck me in deeper. Do you want to watch me put it in?”

The contraction of his walls around his fingers was more than enough confirmation and soon enough he was removing his fingers and lining himself up. Karma’s eager body lifting himself up to make it easier for Nagisa to get comfortable before sinking back down, but not before Nagisa caught his hips, slowly the pace to the redhead was taking him inch by inch, watching as Nagisa’s cock slowly disappeared into his body. It was painfully embarrassing and arousing all at the same time, precome was already dribbling down his length by the time he’d taken Nagisa in completely.

“You take me in so easily.” Sinking his teeth into Karma’s shoulder and moaning in appreciation at the warmth engulfing his cock. Shifting a little, testing, and getting comfortable as Karma quietly rocked in his lap, seeing if Nagisa would allow him this action or deny and tease him even more.

Nagisa was kind however, or as kind as one could be in this situation, allowing Karma to get used to the position before rocking in time with the redhead.

Their bodies swaying in the mirror as if caught in a gentle breeze.

"Did you ever think you'd see this? The sight of my cock buried in your ass." Leaning back slightly, Nagisa supported karmas weight against his own as his fingers slid down his front and catching his ass, spread his cheeks and thighs just enough for Karma to see _exactly_ where Nagisa's cock was buried. Lewdly sliding in tandem with karmas movements before the sight caused his body to tense in embarrassment and their rhythm slowly falling out of synch until Nagisa was slipping in and out of his ass. As the pace began to quicken so too did karmas heart. Embarrassment taking over as the sound of skin against skin echoed in his ears and he couldn't pull away from the display in the mirror.

Nagisa worked to the point of pulling almost to the tip before thrusting back in and the mere sight of Nagisa's generous length disappearing into his body had him hiding behind his hands.

"Put your hands on the mirror." Nagisa ordered returning their position to a more upright one to stop his back growing stiff from the strain.

Shakily unwrapping his arms from his face Karma obeyed, playing his hands either side of the mirror so his vision wasn't obscured.

"Good boy, Karma. Now keep them there I want to watch your face as I make you come."  
He was biting back a needy moan now and Nagisa's fingers snaked their way back up the contour of his toned chest to toy with his nipples.

Pinching and tugging and rolling the hardening nubs between his thumb and forefinger.  
"You're so cute karma. I wouldn't have guessed the confident devil would get so embarrassed seeing himself like this."

His grip on the mirror tightened enough his fingernails dug into the topcoat of paint.

"Do you like this? My fingers teasing your body, my words twisting in your mind, my cock buried so far up your ass it makes me want to come from the feeling alone."

It took all his willpower not to bend over and beg Nagisa to fuck him to oblivion.

Then his fingers were moving again, trailing down to ghost over his neglected cock.

"Do you want me to touch you here too?"

He questioned with a generous bite to his shoulder. From the blade to his jaw there was a litter of hickeys at varying stages of colour that would no doubt remain for at least a week after this night.

They had a meeting this coming Thursday and a visit from Mr. Akabane on Monday. He looked forward to Karma trying to explain his love bites.  By all accounts his father wasn't the most impressed if the marks were visible above his collar line and Nagisa had paid particular attention to making sure a few were above that boundary.

"Look at it twitch in anticipation Karma." He cooed pressing a finger against the slit and rolling it under his touch. Precome pooled around his finger and Nagisa brought the sticky substance to karmas lip.

"Suck," He whispered while wrapping his free hand back around his cock as slowing his thrusts to a standstill as Karma whined at the loss. "Or I won't move and you'll have to fuck yourself on me."

It was a tempting proposition. But one he immediately came to regret lifting himself up to sink back down on that delicious cock. It was infinitely more embarrassing watching the mirror reflection fucking himself so readily on Nagisa's cock than the other fucking him.

So instead he poked his tongue out to lap at the salty taste of himself on Nagisa's fingers before taking them into his mouth.

Nagisa purred in approval before renewing his earlier fun. Pleasuring his shaft in long calculated strokes while picking up an almost brutal pace thrusting his cock into that slick warmth as Karma whimpered loudly around his fingers, sucking them in with every gasp as he brushed his prostate.

"Karma." He hummed as the redhead struggled to keep his unfocusing gaze on the mirror as the intoxicating cocktail of pleasure assaulting his senses drew him to the border of climax. He'd have to do something really special as payback for this.

Nagisa waited until his attention was solely on him before working his way with careful kisses and bites to his jaw, then ear before whispering sexily.

"I want to watch you come."

Karma's moan was a high and needy sound, teeth sucking in, paint catching from the mirrors frame under his nails, back arching, and spilling his seed over the mirror in front of them.

Nagisa continued in firm long strokes, milking out every last drop as Karma's body leaned back against him in a trembling mess.

"You came so much, Karma." Nagisa stared in an almost childlike wonder doing little to help Karma's already blushing face.

Nagisa came not long after as Karma’s walls clamped down around him having seen the cum spilling from his entrance and onto the floor.

“I’ll clean it up in the morning.” Nagisa whispered breathless against his body. Absently thumbing over his slit and licking the residue cum from his fingers. Karma could have come again from the lewd pop of his fingers alone.

"But that was enjoyable. I'm glad we got to do that." Karma all but froze at how final that sounded. As if as soon as their bodies separated that would be the end. Nagisa would insist on cleaning up the mess, properly, pack his things and head back downstairs for the night.

"Nagisa. Wait." The redhead pleaded halting the other's action to pull out. It was a little uncomfortable with Nagisa's dick still inside but his gamble to freeze the moment worked.

His wrecked body still flush from embarrassment and arousal, leaned back against the other.

It was getting late, if Nagisa pulled out now would that be the end of it? Would Nagisa gently clean up and retire back downstairs leaving him alone in his big room once more.

It was getting harder and harder to deal with just how big his room felt after time with Nagisa. Upstairs and downstairs felt like worlds apart.

He desperately wanted this moment to last a little bit longer.

"Let me repay you. I want to make you come too."

Nagisa's heart skipped a beat. He too did not wish for their time to end so abruptly. For many months now his body had been starving from lack of touch. The more time that passed and the closer he grew to Karma, the more his body desired nothing more than to curl itself within the other's arms. Breathe in that intoxicating scent of Karma and his peppermint hair. He longed to stop using sex as an excuse to share some form of unprofessional contact with his client. Ironic considering what his normal line of work was.

He'd long since known the primary reason the redhead didn't indulge in sex more was not from a lack of wanting to, but because under Nagisa's self imposed rule cuddling was still prohibited. Since revealing himself as Karma's bodyguard and as male, the flirting between them slowed even at meetings. The only time the duo really ever touched was during the briefest moments of kisses and sex. It was a rule he'd very much come to regret having.

In all honesty the smaller male had been trying to find a situation to break the chain of that rule without outright admitting to Karma he's practically won. The thought of returning to his life without Karma weighed heavy on his heart and training.

If Karma could wreck him, perhaps he could use it as an excuse not to leave his bed tonight.

"I want to touch you. Pleasure you with toys." Karma swallowed his nerves, Nagisa could feel him trembling in his hold. While it wasn't the first time Karma asked him for sex it was like asking for a kiss. Karma feared losing control and hurting him, or breaking some invisible boundary even when they got into it. Nagisa could read that nervous body like an open book and he longed for Karma to let go and love him so completely in every way.

"Please do." He replied pulling himself out and watching Karma turn to smile. Nagisa loved that particular smile. The one full of endless affection for only him. More than once he felt undeserving of that smile but still he held onto it like a greedy dragon.

Nagisa had to help Karma get back to his feet, his legs ached something fierce but still he pushed himself on to cross the room to the wardrobe. Opening the false back, the redhead shifted through the assortment of paperwork and guns before pulling out a relatively large box of toys. Naturally they weren’t the stuffed sort, nor the collectable sort.

Returning to the bed, only wobbling slightly, and setting it down next to Nagisa who curiously glanced inside.

“Why am I not surprised?” He giggled with a playful jab to his side.

“There’s more where this came from.” Karma teased as he picked out a couple of toys that caught his eye.  “Hey Nagisa, can I tie you to the bed?”

“T-that’s very forward of you.” Nagisa stumbled at the redhead’s disarming bluntness. No amount of training in the world could ever prepare him for every aspect of Karma. The more time went on the more he found himself trying to fight against it.

Picking up the end of a strap from the box and fastening an end to his leg before tending to the other.

“Your hands too.” Karma instructed and Nagisa swallowed nervously, holding his wrists together and offering them to the other.

“I could break out of these bonds if I wanted to, but being completely restrained…”

“That’s fine.” Karma interjected, sensing the nervousness in the other and tying his wrists with enough give he could slip his thin wrists out.

Nagisa’s nerves lessened and he leaned back against the sheets as the other opened his legs like a Christmas present, tying them to the framework of the bed and admiring the sight. But still it was incomplete.

Shifting around in the box he took out a blindfold and, leaning over the smaller male, slowly pulled the ties from his messy hair and secured the fabric in place. Nagisa’s heart beat quickened in anticipation. With his vision obscured by the fabric he could only guess what Karma might do next.

He could recall a large variety of vibrators and beads in Karma’s box but he had no way of telling what one he might use. The mere sound of rustling fabric and a clatter of plastic in the box was deafening in itself.

Karma shifted the box, having picked out what he desired, to the floor and inched closer between his thighs. Nagisa could feel his cock twitch as a million scenes played out in his head, Karma had an active sex life regardless of who the partner was. He liked to experiment and try new things, tease the body until they were practically begging for his cock.

Nagisa bit his lip silencing a quiet moan. He wanted the confident bedroom Karma those previous partners got to see ruin him until he couldn't walk straight.

"Hey, Nagisa." Karma's voice practically purred as his finger teased the slit of his cock. "What are you thinking about to bring this back so soon? I haven't even started yet."

Despite the blindfold he could see the other smirking down at him. Yes. This was the Karma he wanted to join him in bed.

As he was about to reply however Karma pressed something against his entrance, then it was slipping in. More, and more, smooth and curved, Karma was fiddling around with it until the toy was brushing his prostate which Nagisa confirmed with a needy whine.

It must have been U-shaped as what he presumed was the other end, textures with ridges unlike the end inside him, rested on the same patch of sensitive skin between his balls and ass he’d so meticulously teased Karma. Karma’s a bitch in both sense of the word he thought in amusement to himself.

It took a moment to get used to the feeling then he was trying to rock against the toy, there wasn’t enough friction, he needed more than this.

“Karma.” Nagisa warned and the other remained silent. Had it not been for the slight dip of the bed between his legs he would have assumed the redhead had abandoned him entirely but he didn’t want to give Karma the satisfaction of him begging.

“ _Karma_.” The satisfaction of him begging _too_ much…

Then there was shifting on the bed, and a hand brushing his thighs. His breathing hitched as Karma scraped his nails along his skin, not quite hard enough to leave a mark but enough for the feeling to linger in its wake.

Nagisa gasped in appreciation when the redhead finally flicked on the toy. As he suspected both ends of the toy sent pleasurable waves coursing through his lower body and arching his spine. While the speed was nothing more than a pleasant hum, the double stimulation made up for it touching him inside and out.

In a move that really wasn’t surprising coming from Karma, the redhead loomed over the smaller male and teased his nipples with teeth and tongue, all the while nudging the vibrator ever so slightly with his knee so it would miss its mark.

The stimulation was torturously as Karma adjusted the intensity in an ever-changing rhythm of weak to high.

“Not enough… _Karma…_ ” Nagisa whined like a broken record as he neared the edge of climax only to be denied. Karma had been careful until now not to push the vibrator passed the halfway point in an attempt to train Nagisa's body into believing that was the maximum speed. Training him to believe it was this level of stimulation he would need to come. That's when he decided to drop the bomb.

Lowering the speed as he had done before he could see the way the smaller male’s body tensed in preparation for the oncoming onslaught of pleasure, but instead of halfway, Karma turned the dial to max and Nagisa _screamed_.

Instantly fearful he may have hurt him, Karma swiftly turned the dial back down to its lowest setting and scrambled to cup Nagisa's face in his hands when from his lips fell the most _desperate_ of pleads, "Don't you fucking stop."

It took a moment for his brain to process this information but when it did he couldn't stop the smirk stretching across his face as his hand trailed down to cup the vibrator between his thighs and with his free hand, flicked the dial back up manually.

In an instant Nagisa was _moaning_ and begging beneath him with renewed intensity, voice harsh and scratchy from all the talking and moaning.

Fighting the restraints and rocking his hips _hard_ into Karma’s hand in a desperate attempt to fuck himself on the vibrating toy.

Leaning down to kiss him, Karma swallowed the moans of loss as he turned the dial back down over and over keeping the assassin on the borderline of pain and pleasure as he begged more and more for release. He wanted to drown in those pleads.

Finally karma pulled back more to release his lips and hold on the toy, setting it on a relatively high frequency to keep him in limbo just a little bit longer.

Tears fell from beneath the blindfold and karma concluded it was high time to fuck the rules and pull the other into a tight, comforting embrace as soon as they were done.

"K-karma… please... _please_ let me _come_."

To his surprise Karma was once again faced with a rare and unusual sight, the usually composed and controlled Nagisa, even during sex, thrashing and moaning in an almost animalistic mess against the sheets beneath him.

While his eyes were hidden Karma couldn't help but feel beneath that mask his eyes were tearing up a storm and this was a hunch, based on the drool from his lip and his overall appearance. It reminded him very much of the time he'd kept the smaller male on the edge at one of their meetings. A vibrator pressed inside him and providing constant stimulation in a public setting. He'd been acting like this too when they snuck a quick fuck in the engine room below. Nagisa's body sucked him in so desperately it almost felt like a different Nagisa. The _real_ Nagisa behind the teachings and the tricks.

A public sex kink is what he put it down to and that theory became more relevant each and every time they would arrive just slightly early. The silent pleading in Nagisa's eyes for Karma to screw him on the table was increasingly difficult to ignore.

Honestly Karma didn't mind if they got caught. He would however get jealous of anyone staring at the Nagisa reserved only for him. He was greedy when it came to the assassin. He wanted him all.

He intended to make the smaller male come without touching him too much, but his reactions were so enticing he couldn’t leave it be. Reaching into his box of goodies, Karma picked out his more recent purchase, an oral vibrator. He’d never been that keen on this particular toy but upon discovering the other had a vibrating _tongue piercing,_ he couldn’t stop imagining the other’s sweet lips around his cock and providing even _more_ pleasure than he could already give. Nagisa was so good already he wondered if he would even be able to last long enough to appreciate it.

Still, he hadn’t gotten to use it until now and at the back of his mind he silently hoped it would feel good enough that Nagisa might try do the same for him. With that in mind he hooked the object around his bottom lip before leaning forward and wrapping his lips around the head of Nagisa’s cock. To his delight Nagisa’s body jerked relentlessly against his restraints at the double stimulation.

“ _A-Ah, K-Karma!_ ” He moaned, hips bucking against his boyfriend’s face. Wait, boyfriend? Karma wasn’t his boyfriend…

Then Karma bobbed his head, taking more of Nagisa with each descent until he had taken him to the base, the head of his cock pressed to the back of his throat, allowing the smaller male to indulge in the full feeling of the vibrations from the base up. He held still for a moment, and then swallowed around him and Nagisa couldn’t even issue a warning before he came with a raspy moan.

Pulling off with a lewd, wet pop, Nagisa was trembling from pleasure and the continued assault from the vibrator still pressed against his sack and prostate.

“ _Karma..._ ” Nagisa pleaded weakly and Karma took his sweet time in taking off the oral toy and putting it in a box to be cleaned before _finally_ switching off the other.

Nagisa’s head lolled back against the sheets, chest heaving and breath ragged as tried to curl in a ball.

Tossing the box on the ground Karma set to work unfastening his bonds, tossing them haphazardly onto the floor before crawling up the other’s body to ever so gently slip the blindfold from his face. Taking the time to cup Nagisa’s face and kiss him sweetly. Nagisa moaned as the taste of himself mixed with that of Karma as he slipped his tongue in to deepen the kiss.

Karma could tell the other was finally beginning to tire. He’d come to develop a theory about the other as they moved up the sheets and smooched some more. Nagisa had often said he secretly hated clients who wanted more than one round when it came to sex, and now he began to suspect it was because he couldn’t keep up his façade for more than one.

He knew the assassin would wait for a moment of weakness before delivering the killing blow. He must strive to reach that in the first round so he did not risk revealing his more vulnerable side. In a way it was kind of sad, but at the same time, it made him happy. On more than one occasion Nagisa had asked for a second round and he was beginning to suspect it wasn’t just because of his high libido.

The kissing grew sloppy as both males began to drift, enjoying each other’s company in an almost shameless way being so close together.

Then Karma’s laughter broke the silence.

“Hey, Nagi?” The redhead waited until the assassin willed himself to shift his gaze to the other. His sleepy face was almost as adorable as his sleeping face. Stroking his fingers gently through the other’s messy hair and untangling the knots from his earlier shifting, Karma continued in an almost playful tone, “I will take full responsibility if someone breaks in and murders me tonight.”

Nagisa gave a protesting huff and surprised Karma once more by snaking his body to rest on top of Karma, holding him in a protective embrace and nuzzling into the crook of his neck as he mumbled in response, “This will have to do, I can’t move and I’m not going anyway.”

Had Nagisa not been lying on top of him Karma believed he would have bolted upright in that moment trying to verify the words that fell from the other’s lips as the embrace tightened in a hugging gesture before loosening once more as he began to doze off.

“Are you?” Was all Karma could manage as his fingers found the edge of the blanket and waited for the other’s nod of approval before pulling it up over them both and wrapping his arms around Nagisa’s lithe, naked body. Kissing his forehead before burying his face in the sea of blue hair and inhaled deeply.

Nagisa was allowing what he desired most, to hug him and hold him close. He never felt so happy it threatened to bring tears to his eyes once more. Nagisa was ruining him in all the best ways.

If Nagisa would allow it, he never wanted to let go.

“Thank you. Good night, Nagisa.”

*  *  *

 

The morning was one met with mixed emotions. On one hand his whole body ached, especially his ass, like motherfucker, but on the other, the way Nagisa's smaller body curled perfectly into his side with arms and legs thrown over him in a protective, yet cuddly embrace was a feeling warmer than any fire on a winter's night.

It still hadn't sunk in that Nagisa had been the one to finally allow this kind of intimacy. It was the key component he had craved since day one and now that it had finally happened, he found himself wondering if he was still dreaming. At least he wouldn't have to hit the books for study until the afternoon, the rest of his day was pleasantly free from duties.

Karma had found the blue haired male's sleeping form to be a remarkably attractive one on the quick glances as he descended the stairs in the early hours of morning to grab a glass of water before going back to bed, or even in the rarer moments he knelt beside Nagisa's bed to gently card his fingers through his long blue locks in an attempt to calm the restless male as he suffered from nightly terrors.

In comparison, Karma noted as the other snuggled even closer to him and coiled his arms around like a possessive snake, that he looked at peace. Like the nightmares had vanished, leaving him to the warm embrace of slumber as the world of worries expected nothing more of him than to rest.

A warm feeling spread from his core, he wanted to protect that peaceful face and carry the burden of his life for him so he may live the waking life in peace as well.

Deciding it was much too early to wake on a day neither of them had to leave the house,  Karma carefully wiggled his way back close, pausing only for a moment as those hands held him tighter, before burying his face in the strawberry scent of Nagisa's hair, and drifted back off to sleep for a few minutes longer.

*  *  *

Nagisa stirred a mere half hour later with the utmost satisfaction in his night of sexual activities. It was the most fun he'd had in ages and while his body ached it also gave off a pleasant hum from a good night's sleep. It only took him a moment to register he'd spent the night in Karma's company.

It was odd and at times made him feel guilty, the sheer amount of love and respect that Karma had for him, the desire to protect, and be with him, and give him space to grow, turned the once bratty male into a well respected adult who'd make a fine husband to any lucky suitor. What had he ever done to deserve to be the object of Karma's affections? He saw things in Nagisa he himself never knew were there, he'd confused the hell out of him and sent him on a journey of self exploration to discover who he really was and to find his sense of self, it was, nice, to have someone like Karma there for him wholeheartedly despite their conflicts and their initial rocky relationship.

In a way he guessed the redhead had won. Not that he would admit that out loud. The contract was drawing to a close and a new kind of paranoia began to take hold.

Karma had his whole life ahead of him but what awaited Nagisa? Would he leave this place that had come to feel like home to return to a life of selling his body for the good of the city? The closer he got to Karma, the less appealing his life before became. What awaited him on the morning of December 25th if he wanted to stay?

As he shifted to sit up and stretch his back, Karma woke for the second time that morning and looked up at him with the most loving of gazes and covered in dark marks from the night before, it made his heart skip a beat. He looked so vulnerable in the morning.

"I like your hickeys," Karma teased, rolling onto his stomach and propping himself up on his elbows to admire his handiwork of lazy kisses and bites before exhaustion retired them for the night. “Who gave them to you?”

Nagisa contemplated for a moment before deciding to indulge the redhead and tease him back.

"The rich kid from the other territory I was talking to yesterday before you arrived."

"E-eh?" Normally it would have been an easy feat to come up with a witty retort. But despite knowing there was no one Nagisa could have made out with anyone else, he felt a wash of fear that maybe Nagisa could have done so. Anxiety creeping in, maybe he wasn't good enough for Nagisa's affection.

"Are you jealous?" He continued turning to look at the other just in time to catch Karma awkwardly wiping his eye in an overdramatic 'I just have something in my eye' gesture.

Then it happened again and again, until he was trying to bury his face in a pillow.

"Karma? Are you-?"

"I can't make it stop." The redhead cut him off with a broken mumble. Looking up tears still cascading down the sides of his face like a miniature waterfall.

Guilt tugged at his heartstrings, ignoring his aching backside to throw himself next to Karma. Pulling away the pillow he’d been using as a shield to pull him close and pepper his face neck with butterfly kisses.

It must have tickled because Karma couldn’t stop giggling between disappearing tears.

They stayed that way until the final tear was shed and the redhead came down from his little breakdown. Nagisa reassuring him that the hickeys, the aching of his body, and the warm feeling in his chest. Everything was Karma.

As was the eventual break in their peaceful silence as the redhead's stomach made a noise equivalent to that of a dying whale.

After vigorous exercise and a long sleep no wonder food was on the mind.

"I should get up and make breakfast." Nagisa hummed in consideration before trying to pry himself free of Karma's grasp. The other male wouldn't allow it and simply buried his face childishly against his stomach with a stubborn 'don't go.'

"You can't hold on to me forever. I've gotta leave sometime." He insisted brushing back Karma's fringe.  It had gotten on the longer side he could probably swish it over to one side and with a sharp suit, give off a very authoritative aura. He couldn't help but bite his lip at the mental image of a proud, professional Karma at his side... and between his thighs.

Karma on the other hand looked up with faint confusion, silently hoping he wasn't looking too much into the other's words by wondering if he was referring to their contract.

"We can get breakfast delivered. Takuya's part time restaurant, Matsuraiken, two blocks down does late morning breakfast pancakes as well as their usual ramen for lunch and dinner hours."

Nagisa contemplated for a moment. Karma knew the assassin was cautious about food not prepared by himself, even with Terasaka’s gang and the odd member of the Akabane family living in close proximity around this block, the fear of someone trying to slip his client poison into his food ever present.

"I get them from time to time and Terasaka can bring them upstairs so we don't have to move." He pressed and finally Nagisa gave in with a resigned sigh and snuggled back until the blankets. Karma was positively beaming as he pulled out his phone to make the order.

"Pancakes and ramen is an unusual combination to provide. Do that many people want pancakes?"

Karma chuckled.

"Nah, I just get a craving for pancakes every now and then. It happened enough they just keep the ingredients stashed in case I ever demand for them. I'm getting fresh pancakes with whipped cream, strawberries, and chilli chocolate sauce. What do you want?"

"Can’t take away your exotic spices for a second can we?" Nagisa giggled and shuffled over to read the menu karma had saved on his phone. It was crudely written out and most likely a collaborative list of everything Karma had ordered at one point or another in the past so they knew what to buy.

"Fresh pancakes with whipped cream, bananas, blueberries, and syrup for me, Thankyou." He answered and watched Karma plug in the order into his phone before hitting send.

Snuggling back together in the bed awaiting breakfast as the silence continued to be interrupted with small growls of hungry stomachs and giggles.

Terasaka arrived with a quick buzz in from the intercom just above the dual combination and key door. It meant Karma could ring through the code that changed on a daily basis to let the other male in before making his way upstairs to Karma’s bedroom.

Nagisa had often insisted on changing the code whenever Karma spoke it so casually over the intercom despite the decent grassed lawn between the house and its stone and barred fence perimeter. Karma firmly believed the male would die before giving up the combination and there were ample concealed security cameras that could be accessed from his bedside table and Nagisa’s smaller setup downstairs.

It meant Karma could let Terasaka and his gang into the lounge to watch the sports before he even bothered getting up some mornings to unlock the door.

If all went well however it may just end up upstairs if Karma could keep him in bed. No matter how comfortable that sofa bed was downstairs, nothing compared to a decent mattress and tons of pillows.

Opening the bedroom door Terasaka quickly noticed the disarray of clothing on the floor, the lacy garters, an array of toys that needed to be washed, and the smear of a damp cloth on Karma's full length mirror.

"Congrats on the sex." Was the only thing that fell from his mouth as he held the two trays of neatly stacked pancakes and orange juice.

Fighting back a blush as he tried to bleach the scenarios that came to mind. The bite marks littering both male's necks and chests didn't help in the slightest. Nor how shameless the two were over their very naked bodies sliding up the bed to rest against the headboard, tugging the sheets up to cover themselves before accepting the tray.

"You too." Karma thanked in his own special way. The higher collar of Terasaka's shirt barely covered a couple of his own bite marks from Itona.

The larger male simply brushed it off as an instinctive reply before leaving the two at a fast pace before they, in his mind, got up to even kinkier shit than what was left behind on the floor.

“I can’t remember the last time I had pancakes.” Nagisa whispered, carefully sinking his knife into the fluffy stack.

Karma was quick to pile cream and chocolate into his own before rolling it up tightly to lick the cream overflowing top the tip.

“I would have thought they’d cut them up instead of leaving them whole.” Nagisa commented while picking up a cream covered banana admiring the curve.

“They’re better like this.”

Karma leaned over to hold his hand, licking the tip before taking it into his mouth.

He had been a little too enthusiastic and taken in too much, the sticky cream mix dribbling from the corner of his mouth. Threatening to drip onto the bed sheets the redhead had to pull off to swallow and catch it with a quick apology.

Swiping the cream off his chin and licking it off his fingers in a manner Nagisa’s heart and nether region believed was far too suggestive.

“Ah sorry, I’ll finish that off.” Karma continued, reaching back out for the saliva slicked banana.

Karma was ruining him. This had to be on purpose.

Missing a speck of cream on his upper lip had to have been on purpose too, and Nagisa believed it was high time he started returning the favour.

Leaning in to slowly lick the substance from Karma’s cheek, bite at his lip, and kiss him eagerly, wasting no time as he pressed his tongue to the crease to ask for entrance.

Karma couldn’t suppress the small moan that escaped his lips as Nagisa’s tongue mapped out his hot mouth once more. He could taste the faint hint of blueberries on his lips. It was a taste that suited the assassin in his opinion.

Nagisa smirked as he drew out another moan, pulling back to admire the growing flush and breathless rise and fall of his chest. His higher libido kicking in once more, he had been kinda hoping the redhead would be up for another round by morning.

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised you weren’t satisfied after just one night.” The redhead chuckled nervously.

He seemed so genuinely surprised by Nagisa’s action it took a moment for his to comprehend that Karma hadn’t _intentionally_ been trying to entice him.

Nagisa felt a flush of embarrassment colour his face at the realization and quickly returned to his breakfast.

Honestly Karma thought it was rather adorable. In his mind, Nagisa was just embarrassed about wanting to go another round first thing in the morning. Their bodies ached and he didn’t know how much he could handle, but he wasn’t entirely opposed to fooling around some more. Work could wait till late afternoon.

“Do you want to go another round after breakfast?” He asked and Nagisa gave him a small nod before trying to joke.

“Do you think you could handle me again so soon?” But the redhead seemed to ignore the comment in favour of teasing him more.

“Your face is as red as my strawberry, Nagi.” Karma cooed as he made a point to loudly suck the cream off the red fruit before sliding it into his mouth with a satisfied hum.

Nagisa swallowed hard as he tried to concentrate on at least finishing breakfast first and getting over his overly eager thoughts moments earlier, but Karma had him in a metaphorical corner, and it wouldn’t be Karma if he didn’t tease. It made him want the redhead more. He wanted to kiss that teasing smirk off his pretty face and reduce him to wanton whimpers and cries of his name as he satisfied him like no one else could. He wanted to steal Karma away for himself and himself only.

Karma was ruining him, and he liked it.

He must have zoned out at some point because the next thing he heard was the shutter of Karma’s phone as he snapped up three, maybe four photos of him red faced, and eyes full of lust.

His behaviour was so embarrassing he wanted those photos gone immediately. Swiftly reaching forward to swipe the phone from Karma's hand has reflex told him to delete the photo, only to be stopped just millimetres any from the confirm icon.

"Nagisa don't!" Came the almost desperate plea from Karma followed by a much more quite,  "Please don't delete my photos."

Nagisa was taken aback by the genuine distress that laced the redhead's features and voice, an outstretched arm bent at the elbow caught between lunging and withdrawing.

Nagisa exited out of editor and reassured Karma he wouldn't delete the photo. Curiosity however got the better of him as he back spaced to find karma had an entire folder of photos dedicated to him.

The fact it existed was not he surprise part, the surprising part was just how many photos there were. Of various dates and a couple of selfies with himself in the background. Looking at them in succession he noticed the dates slowly working up the year and then it dawned on him.

Karma had been taking a photo of him almost every day since their first 'date' on valentine's day.

Valentines, meetings, the charity event, everything in succession and slowly with more photos as they grew to know each other.

The sudden timeskip in May and early June made him uneasy, remembering that as the time the redhead had fell into such a depression slump he seemingly cut off from the world entirely.

Looking from the first to latest, Nagisa noticed how different he was too.

He no longer had the cold eyes of a professional here only to do his job, compared to the seemingly ridiculous quantity of photos with him smiling now.

He really had opened himself to Karma, if the permission to cuddle was anything to go by.

"What are these?" Nagisa found himself asking despite having guessed the answer.

Karma was holding on to every moment with Nagisa like it was his last. Like every day was December 24th and he'd wake December 25th to find Nagisa was not there.

"My memories." Karma responded adverting his gaze like a child expecting to be scolded for hording bottle caps.

Those photos were a lifeline to him. His only connection to the person who accepted him wholeheartedly and stuck around for so long. Deleting the photos felt like deleting memories. That someone wished to forget or that he wasn't needed anymore.

Not wanting to pressure Nagisa to maybe stay out of obligation to avoid guilt, Karma kept quiet over how important each and every photo was to him.

For better or worse, whatever the outcome in December, he wanted to remember his time with Nagisa, the one he would wait eternity for, the one he loved most.

"Those photos I've deleted before, I haven't deleted without sending them to myself first in case I ever needed them..." The assassin trailed off not wanting to admit to the other it was in case he needed to build a case against Karma or provide Intel for another contract. "I'll send them back to you. I don't want to tamper with your memories. Your memories are yours."

For the most part he hated when clients took photos of him, or posed him in such a way to derive some sort of sick pleasure form what they did, but Karma was different. True he had been opposed to it at first by seeing Karma now, it felt safe, it felt alright to let him keep those photos of him.

He wished there was more of them together though.

Taking the phone, Nagisa put their finished plates aside and dropped himself at Karma's side leaning back against the redhead entirely. Karma had to accommodate for Nagisa's position resulting in essentially wrapping his arms around the smaller boy's frame.

As he was about to question what the other was doing, Nagisa flicked on the selfie camera, holding it out and shuffling until they were both neatly in the frame.

As it turned out, Nagisa was an expert at taking selfies, not a single shake of his hand, and making perfect use of the bedroom lighting. He snuggled himself close and took a few photos before asking Karma to smile too.

Leaning up to quickly snap a photo of an unexpected kiss before pulling the phone back to examine the photos and send his favourite to himself.

"Much better." He announced with a small smile as he felt the redhead's arms tighten around him and bury his face in Nagisa's soft morning hair.

"I love you." Karma whispered, kissing the top of Nagisa's head and temple. The words rolling off his tongue with relative ease and confidence now he mouth grew accustomed to forming the words of endearment and Nagisa practically _purred_ in response. Snuggling closer as the duo basked in the warmth and comfort of this moment.

Nagisa had yet to return those words to him and honestly he didn't mind. He'd wait forever for Nagisa to be ready. The same way he waited to kiss, to touch. Nagisa was the one thing he never wanted to let go, and he knew that Nagisa had come to feel the same.

It was enough to just _know_.

“Still up for round 2?”

*  *  *

Nagisa sat obediently in Karma’s lap. While the table was more than aware of the smaller males gender and while that had changed, at the end of the day Karma was still Karma and the redhead would take any opportunity that befell him.

In this instance it was Nagisa’s request.  Carefully leaning back to support himself against Karma’s frame the redhead gently traced circles on Nagisa’s thighs, paying particular attention to the others flicker of response as he pressed delicately on fresh bite marks.

It was their dirty little secret. Sex on the table before a meeting. The thrill of fear they would be caught as Karma pinned his wrists with one hand and with the other, stroke and tease him to no end.

Sinful whispers in his ear, Nagisa if you don't keep it down someone might hear you, what will they say if they saw us now, you're already so wet if you don't watch out you might stain the table.

Nagisa enjoyed public sex far more than he let on and Karma was more than happy to indulge him when Nagisa asked.

They were the days karma would mysteriously find himself at the meeting room half an hour early and Nagisa needily climbing into his lap asking if he's brought everything. Karma always did.

Nagisa’s desires for public and semipublic sex were few and far between he was never unprepared.

Rio had called them out on it once.  But really she called everyone out saying there was no way someone hadn’t screwed someone on the table.  Years of teasing and lying meant the duo could divert her claim and successfully maintain their self indulgent act.

"If I was screwing someone on the table I would hope its Nagisa and you all would know about it."

 The murmur of agreement sealed the deal. In their mind Karma not bragging about such a thing was a good enough alibi as any. At any rate Nagisa was grateful for the redhead’s quick wit to keep Rio's prying eyes off them.

Not that there was much need. For the first time ever, Gakushu was the _last_ to show up, even more surprising, he arrived clad in an op shop’s shirt, pants, and one of Ryuki’s signature studded jackets embodied with the family’s dragon on the back.

Ryuki’s usual bodyguard wasn’t with him either, instead stood the four of Gakushu’s closest minions, Teppei Araki, Natsuhiko Koyama, Tomoya Seo, and Ren Sakakibara.

The meeting was unlike their usual ones, there we so many people, but as much as it tried to be normal, no one could ignore the elephant in the room.

“So you gonna tell us what’s up with the square stuck to your face?” Karma interrupted whatever conversation was happening and all eyes turned curiously towards Gakushu. For once Ryuki seemed the most relaxed in the room.

Gakushu‘s gaze looked at each and every one of those sets of eyes eventually falling on Nagisa’s who looked more concerned than the rest. He didn’t want to lie to him but...

“My father and I had a disagreement. So I told him to go fuck himself.”

The comment about being kicked out of the territory falling on deaf ears as the room erupted from one side into whistles and cheers as Rio offered to buy him a drink for finally growing a pair of balls.

“When I told you to stand up to him I didn’t mean get yourself kicked out.” Nagisa’s words cut through the noise like a hot knife through butter.

Gakushu hesitantly swallowed and adverted his eyes, trying instead to bring the conversation back to the task at hand. With the North lost to his father, there was the task at hand to prevent him from claiming anything more. Without Gakushu to hold him back, Gakuho would have free reign to do as he pleased.

The entire time Nagisa watched Gakushu from his spot in Karma’s lap.

Ren could see the way his blonde haired boss squirmed under those intense blue eyes from across the table. Nagisa was attractive, in his opinion. He could see why Gakushu was so smitten. It made him a little jealous. Ren with his poetic finesse, who could woo any gender into his bed and pants every other night, was one of Gakushu’s longest serving members, and always had time for the golden boy, really wouldn’t have minded if Gakushu looked that way at him every once in a while...

As the meeting dragged on vastly dominated by Gakushu and Ryuki tag teaming and rebounding plans off each other and the rest of the group, the blonde began to tire and Karma made the call for a meal break to regain their strength, much to Gakushu’s distaste. They had to figure this all out _now_ before his father caught on to what was happening, if he hadn’t done so already.

Across the room Nagisa tugged his redhead closer to whisper in his ear. "I'm going to see if I can persuade Gakushu to confide in me the details of what happened. Knowing might help us find weaknesses in Gakuho's plans and get this city back to its rightful owners."

"Just no fucking him this time." Karma joked with a playful wink and Nagisa smiled. If he were to ever have sex with Gakushu, it would have to be a threesome, not that the Gakushu now would be ready for that with his ever present crush on the blue haired assassin running the risk of him never moving on.

"Without you there too? Wouldn't dream of it." Came his cheerful reply before making his way over with a wobble in his step, to confront the blonde male. Studded leather did look good on him.

Ryuki and Rio, along with their bodyguards and Gakushu’s men had already filed out of the room for a brunch break, with Karma following suit just outside to the vending machine so he wasn’t _too_ far away, it allowed the remaining duo some privacy.

Gakushu hadn’t moved from his seat. Head buried in his hands, the leather jacket was just slightly too big for him hiding much of his expression. Nagisa could tell he was shaking though. No doubt the stress was getting to the new rebel.

“Nagisa.” Gakushu said quietly acknowledging the other’s presence as he slipped into the seat beside him and gently took his hand in his own, brushing his thumb over the back and knuckles in a soothing motion as Gakushu sat there in silence.

"If I know two things about you it's that you'd never say 'Fuck you' to your father's face, nor would he want to leave physical bruises on you. So now that we're alone, will you tell me what's happened?"

His voice ended so sweetly Gakushu couldn't help but feel guilty for not telling Nagisa, after all, his confidence to finally cut the strings his father that had been puppeting his life with for so many years.

"It's a little bit of a long story." Gakushu warned and Nagisa simply shrugged.

"I have time to listen."

Gakushu fell silent for a moment, looking around almost fearful someone was listening in on him.

“Ren Sakakibara is my right hand and... a dear friend. He’s taken the fall for me as I have for him. His tattoos are one ring from completion and my father has accused him of clouding my judgement and getting too close. He insists that’s a crime punishable by another branding.

“I protested, accusing him of a crime he cannot even prove would be a contradiction to what he’s supposed to stand for.

“His only response was he believed I was in need of a new right hand anyway. I... I couldn’t let him do that, Nagisa.” The shaking of his voice was impossible to hold back.

As Nagisa rubbed small circles into his back in comfort, he waited for the younger male to compose himself enough to continue.

“We fought and he froze all of my assets, told me I had to get on my hands and knees and recite a scripted apology for him to play back whenever I stepped out of line.”

“You refused then?” Nagisa tried to quietly joke trying to break the tension.

“He gave me an hour. I packed what I needed, found Ren and took with me whoever would pledge their allegiance. There are five of us. Everyone else stayed under my father’s rule. I sent the message out to Rio, and yourself to organize a path around until obtaining a phone what wouldn’t be bugged.

“You can probably guess by the jacket I went to Ryuki. His territory was the closest and I needed some place with some sense of protection and rebellion. I offered a business deal with Ryuki allowing me some degree of control over his territory enough and to get a stable enough footing to get back. Ryuki agreed on the condition I was clean of the drugs my father had used to sprout new addicts, but to get my hands dirty and beat his commanding chiefs in a fistfight.”

At this Nagisa couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Someone managed to punch golden boy Gakushu in his pretty face? Scandalous.”

“I know right?” Gakushu said finally cracking a smile.

The intermission was drawing to a close as the leaders slowly filed back in. Gakushu wanted to talk to Nagisa more, but at the same time he felt as if he’d said too much and should have stayed the quiet obedient child, that any moment his father would walk through the door behind him and-

Immense fear washed over the blonde male as the figure of his father appeared in the doorway plunging the room into a deathly silence.

Instinctively Nagisa moved between the older male and his son and logic pulled Karma to Nagisa’s side.

"Father..." Gakushu answered, the fear in his voice kept in check by the habit of obedience.

"Did you honestly believe you could hide from me? Changing phones and location can only get you so far. Naturally I would track you down. Did you really think you could run to another territory and set up shop there? Everything you that's yours is mine, instead of delaying my advance you have only helped it, the North and West belong to Asano!"

All eyes fell on Gakushu as the once thought to be carbon copy of his father, was thrust into the spotlight. It had been so easy before, to put his foot down and fight his father, but now the air around him was suffocating and the uneasy feeling like a centipede crawling over his skin, forced him into obedience.

He wanted to claw at his throat in hopes it would relieve the pressure that silenced his voice. If he doesn’t fight back now everyone in this room would be in danger.

Gakuho would infest the territories and working his way from the slums up, hook them onto cocaine and watch as they succumb to the drug that would cripple their minds, their finances, until they’d give him _anything_ for just one more fix. He’d rule under an iron fist, and weed out the undesirable.

Gakushu never approved of his methods.

Especially when his solution to a disagreement between the present leaders was to conceal it in their food, he’d never resort to such dirty means to win.

Gakuho seemed to be enjoying Gakushu’s struggle against his influence. When the nausea crept into the pit of his stomach and hope seemed lost to rebel, none other than Korosensei, the Yakuza boss himself, opened the door with the loudest creak.

“Sorry I’m late! The line for gelato was ridiculous for an autumn day!”

When Nagisa had received the text from Gakushu not to text his number anymore, his immediate response was to update his boss. When the second text came through from Rio of a last minute location change, again he forwarded in onto Korosensei. Something didn’t feel right about the whole thing and now he knew why.

Despite his demeanour, the thin man with a goofy circular mask, octopus handled walking stick, and heavy coat more like that of a college graduate than a boss, was every bit respected as anyone in a sharp suit and fullbody tattoos would be.

An ex-assassin by trade, rumour had it he has single handedly assumed control of Yakuza branch, before working his way to the top and dedicating his life to the upbringing of misfits and orphans worldwide and prompting a safer country all round.

Despite his state with growing age, the only one who could match Gakuho was Korosensei.

"I think you will find, Gakuho, your son does not explicitly own any territory within the West, he is merely a contributor with limited influence over how things are run. According to your agreement of putting him into power, this collaborative ownership means the territory isn't his therefore you have no right to it.”

Gakuho didn’t look entirely impressed with this minor detail but acknowledged it nonetheless, gesturing for the Yakuza boss to take a seat as he made himself comfortable too.

There seemed to be an unspoken decision to have Gakushu seated as far away from his father as possible, with Korosensei himself on one side, and Nagisa on the other.

The others seated themselves around the table leaving a chair or two distanced between themselves and Gakuho who sat directly in front of the door. In a way it felt like Gakuho had them cornered but the reality was obvious, Korosensei was providing a door for the other male to leave.

"Gakushu has been working very hard from the time you dismissed him and even before that. He's wanted to prove his worth even if that worth took on the form of rebellion against a father who shut himself off from the world and neglected to see his own son as more than a pawn.

"You can't keep living in the past, you cannot protect everyone that's why alliances are so important. Let the children who will one day replace us decide their fate. Let us guide them and support them if they fall.

“I'm not saying withdraw entirely but be something for them to work for. Let them try and form this alliance to unite the territories as one.”

The group watched in silence. While Korosensei was the only one to speak, they’d be fools to ignore the small gestures, and glances from member to member, Gakuho was assessing them intently and while no one could see the boss’s face behind the mask, they could tell he too was assessing them.

“You and I both know I'm the only thing standing between you and asserting complete dominance over the city. Give them until March. If they haven't proven to you by then, I won't stand in your way.” Korosensei continued, absently rubbing his abdomen and adjusting his black hair.

Out of the corner of his eye, Nagisa could see the sweat dripping just behind his mask, a glimpse of the deep purple bruise on his wrist as the fabric shifted, and the weary way he slouched his back.

It hurt his heart to see him growing so weak. He tried so hard to put on a brave face to keep everyone under the belief he his health was well and that the Yakuza was as strong as ever. But chemotherapy could not fend back the advance of his chronic leukaemia, cancer of the blood that had long since caused the loss of his hair and forced him out of the celebratory indulgence of a good cigar. 

“Give them this chance. I think you'd be surprised what they are capable of when you stop seeing them as child and respect them as adults."

Gakuho’s gaze shifted around the room, admiring the look of determination in the younger generation’s eyes. If he wanted he could have ruined them all a long time ago, but he’d played by Korosensei’s rules since before the children came to some semblance of power.

Another 5 months wasn’t long, and he was a patient man.

"Your words are sweet but I know you're only doing that because I cannot challenge your authority. But fine, I will accept your offer and give these... leaders, until March to prove they are fit for us to hand the world to. If not. You can expect an essay on your deathbed come March." He spoke with the smile that haunted Gakushu’s dreams.

It was once a smile his earliest memories at the mere age of five remembered him giving as they placed like father and son should. But some point that same year everything had changed, his father falling into a state of depression, spending less and less time at home and teaching him harder and longer every day.

The memory of his mother trying to comfort him haunted him too until she wore that sad smile that one day her husband would return.

That friendly smile had had turned to one he came to fear for the longest time, one he striving to make sure he met expectation. It was a terrifying concept to finally have the courage to fight back. It was a comfort to know he wasn’t alone.

“Your inability to change is the reason you still have nightmares, Gakuho.” Korosensei continued as the other male rose from his chair. All eyes were on him and Gakushu most of all sat in confusion. Nightmares as opposed to regular dreams, he couldn’t imagine his father actually being _afraid_ of anything.

“If you want his spirit to be at peace you have to give your students the room to grow.”

The other male kept his head low, ignoring the painfully sincere tone that felt almost condescending. He’d have to invite the weakening old man out for a beer and remind him not to bring up the past in front of others.

Politely pushing back in his chair, Gakuho left the room without another word and the room let out a collective sigh of relief.

"It won't be easy but I have confidence you all can unite and show Gakuho the past doesn't have to repeat itself, balance can be achieved without rule being held by one party.

"You look like you're having fun." A sly smirk peaked out the bottom of Korosensei's circular mask prompting the faintest blush from his student. In an instant it was as if Gakuho hadn’t been there at all.

Nagisa simply nodded sheepishly, Korosensei must have notice the faint wobble in his step as he crossed the distance between them. He was having a lot of fun with Karma, almost shamefully so.

Korosensei's smile seemed to widen with that, mirroring the stretched toothy grin of his mask.

“That’s good. You can’t be all work no fun all the time. After this, I think we need a proper day out to catch up. I’m sure Irina misses you too.”

Nagisa couldn’t help but smile.

“I’d like that.”


	12. November - Or is it?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Very angsty/heavy chapter/character death warning.  
> That title does seem a bit suspicious tho... is it really November? or is the imminent end to the contract between Nagisa and Karma playing a bit too much on a certain redhead's mind? Could he be.... imagining it?

In a way it felt inevitable that it would come to this. The time he decided to open himself up to someone they turn around and hurt him again, yet somehow he couldn’t bring himself to hate that annoying attractive redhead. Whether it was intended to be that malicious or not the fact of the matter was it still _hurt_.

Korosensei had decided to visit and inform his students of the severity of his condition and to put in place plans for Karma’s study if he were to die before graduation from the program Nagisa had stealthy enrolled the redhead into. Naturally it didn’t take long for the Yakuza boss to discover Nagisa was seeking higher training for his client and not for some recruit to replace him if he were to leave, but that wasn’t the issue.

The issue was that Karma had attacked him on a personal level. His response to Korosensei’s condition was at its core, proposing to kill the boss now. He’d already prepared a successor, the cancerous growth had progressed so far he was beyond saving, not that he could leave his mountain without being shot along the way, how he made it here in one piece was a miracle in itself and a testament to how powerful the boss still was, but in the end, with his time so limited and the struggle it was to even move, why not just put him out of his misery? 

In Karma’s mind it was a logical viewpoint but to Nagisa it was anything but.

With teeth bared his venomous words practically _dripped_ from his tongue as he struck out like a vengeful serpent towards a cunning fox and not even Korosensei himself was able to separate the two.

“How _dare_ you even suggest that?”

In the assassin's bloodsoaked life the people who had stayed at his side long enough for him to trust were few enough he could count them on the fingers of one hand. They had either betrayed him or died. From the long cold winters of his childhood to his training on the grimy streets adults had been targets or threats. The only ones he could trust were Bitch-sensei and Korosensei. They were the only ones he looked up to and respected, the only ones who would look after him and keep him safe. Everyone else was dead; he couldn't lose Korosensei too!

The thought of it is like an ice water bath; Nagisa feels like he is going to shatter or break down in tears and he takes all his hatred, all his anger at this unfair world and hurls it at Karma.

Karma was still new to him, he had no idea how fragile an assassin's happiness was or how important the people he loved really were to him. He had been born into a pit of blackness and clawed his way towards the light. What happiness was his was like a glittering jewel dropped in mud and he clung to it with the zealousness of a dragon. What could Karma know of that longing, he who had been born with every advantage?!

Like the readheaded devil, Nagisa too wasn’t one for playing fair and Karma deserved these dirty tactics. It was something he’d refrained from bringing up, there would have been a time and place for that conversation, nut here he was, using it now, and driving the wedge between them even deeper.

Korosensei seemed to sense the assassin’s change in aura, they needed to stop before it was too late and their work to get Nagisa back into the world would shatter.

“Well, at least I _know_ where my parents are Karma. Where are yours?” He paused with intent to kick out his legs from beneath him. “Oh right, they don’t tell you. They don’t tell little ole Karma that he’s a Yakuza child or that his arrogance and recklessness is already causing them so much grief that they too must maintain they are without child to shelter him from a world that would jump at the chance to manipulate and use you.” His head tilted in such a way, despite his small stature he appeared to be looking down on the taller male, a sinister smile playing on his face. “Did they even reply to the message about your report? That was over a month ago wasn’t it? I wonder what they’re doing that prevents them from conversing with you. But this isn’t the first time either is it?”

Karma jerks back as if Nagisa had physically struck him.

"You're lying, my parents wouldn't lie to me! They love me!"

Karma doesn't need to think about it, the denial jumps to his lips as easy as breathing, and he draws his knife.

"You can't be that naive." Nagisa laughs harshly and Karma doesn't know what to say.

The knife point shakes and Karma looks at his unsteady hands. He doesn't know if it is fear or anger he is shaking with. They feel like mannequin arms rather than a part of him. The room now seems to be too sharp and too bright, like an overexposed photograph. Nagisa's voice sounds like it is filtering in through water and a high pitched ringing starts to echo in his ears. His throat feels dry and there is an invisible weight lodged there, no matter how hard he swallows he can't shift it. Karma gasps for breath, he can't seem to get enough air.

He doesn't want to think about what Nagisa said but he can't stop himself. He doesn't want to believe what Nagisa said is true but he had spent years applying his relentless intellect to figuring out why his parents never stayed. At some point he had started making excuses for them...

Tears start to well up in Karma's eyes.

"That's enough." Korosensei steps between them. "Nagisa, that was behaviour not becoming of an assassin...or a pupil of mine."

Karma didn’t even notice the blade that had come within millimetres of his throat as the older male physically separated the two. In retrospect all the words between the two seemed to fall on deaf ears, the walls were closing in on him as he desperately tried to remember his breathing exercises.

His body was trembling and at some point he’d lowered his blade, holding on to it in an almost vicelike grip, it felt like his only connection to the world, if he let go then he’d break.  

A hand wrapped around his and it was warm and friendly. Willing himself to look up he thought for the faintest moment he caught a glimpse of the face beneath that ridiculous mask.

“Karma, your parents love you. But it’s because they love you that they can’t always be here for you. They are Yakuza much like Nagisa and myself, our work takes us everywhere. For your parents they not only have a lot on their plate but they work night and day to ensure you are hidden and safe. They wanted you to grow up in an environment where you could be free and learn even if it meant they could not be here for it.

“Freedom however has made you lonely, your intelligence disconnected you from the people around you and you feel the need to protect yourself and the precious things you hold close. It was no coincidence that Nagisa was assigned to you. The two of you have a certain kind of chemistry that makes you fit together.”

Korosensei continued and glanced over at Nagisa who was staring daggers into the floor a few meters away. “This isn’t your first fight nor will it be your last, but,” He gestured for the smaller assassin to come over as he pulled the duo into a comforting embrace much like a parent consoling his bickering sons. “You’re both what each other needs to find their place in the world and I’m not the only one who believes that. I’m going to die either way, there’s no point in fighting over such a trivial matter.”

Nagisa’s fists balled against the familiar robes that had sheltered him for so long. He couldn’t bear the thought of this familiarity leaving his life, the same sort of familiarity that had long since been growing for Karma too.

Karma didn’t need to look at the other to know he was tearing up in much the same way as he. It had been so long to be in an almost parental kind of comforting embrace he felt the stab of guilt for suggesting they do away with Korosensei sooner. Somewhere along the line it slipped his mind what Korosensei was to Nagisa, and what he was to him as well. He was more than a teacher, he really was that kind of father figure the two had sorely been lacking.

*  *  *

As the week was drawing to a close the duo still refused to talk to each other more than necessary, turning away and outright ignoring gestures they originally would have taken note of. If there was one thing they shared in common above all else, it was stubbornness.

Karma however was keeping a little more distant, no doubt he was shaken by the smaller male losing his composure and threatening him with a knife. It was like he didn’t deserve it, but it was out of line. He didn’t want the redhead to be _scared_ of him, but he did wish to remind him who the _bodyguard_ was and who it was in this household that had been looking after his sorry ass for the year thus far.

Perhaps it was inevitable that they would end up fighting. All couples did, it was part of a healthy relationship was it not? There he went again mistaking their relationship for something unprofessional. He’d been doing that a lot recently and discovered he didn’t much care to correct himself. Yes they were fighting, but it wasn’t like he hated Karma. If anything he was _missing_ him.

He himself decided it would be better for both of them if he went back to sleeping on the pullout. He regretted it instantly. His nights became restless once more and the nights felt lonelier than his first nights as a young yakuza assassin without bitchsensei to hold his hand.

He wanted that warmth again. He wanted this argument to be over. But he wanted Karma to apologise first.

So he opted for the next best thing.

With phone in hand he made his way up to their bedroom and locked the door. In a way, simply knowing what he was about to do was a turn on. He could feel the way his body pulsed in desire and anticipation of what was to come. This wasn’t the first time he’d planned to do this, but the difference was this time, in this room, Karma was home.

Tossing his phone onto the sheets, Nagisa turned to the wardrobe and silently removed the false back to shift through Karma’s box of toys before locating that one particular black U-shaped vibrator the redhead had so _lovingly_ teased him to hell and back with. It was his favourite toy specifically for the memories of it that rooted themselves deep within his brain. The bonus was in the fact Karma rarely wanted to use it.

Replacing the back with all the silence of a professional thief, Nagisa made his way back to the foot of the bed. Unfastening his belt and letting gravity tug his pants almost to the floor before kicking them off, the clothing soon followed by his boxers.

Retrieving the strawberry scented lube he’d picked out from the box as well, he slicked up the smooth end of the vibrator before pressing to his ass. Spreading his cheeks with the fingers of his free hand and biting back a moan of delight as he slowly slipped the end inside.

It took a bit of fiddling, but the feeling was worth it as the end inside rubbed deliciously against his prostate and the textured end fit snugly against his skin and balls. With a flick of the switch he put it on to its lowest setting. Nothing too intense. Just a constant, pleasant hum to stimulate his body.

Once he got used to the feeling he set to work relieving himself of the rest of his clothes and snake his way onto the bed. The vibrator shifted with every movement he made bringing on more waves of pleasure as he debated how best to go about his little activity.

Lying on his back at first, it was comfortable, at the position meant it was easy to rock himself slightly against the toy but the downside was he couldn’t hold his phone _and_ jerk off comfortable without disrupting his mood. Or dropping the phone on his face.

So instead he rolled onto his front, and sat with his legs folded. Body instinctively grinding down but still not satisfied.

Face down and ass in the air it was then.

He’d been careful to charge his phone max before his little game, removing the lock from his phone and leaving the screen on indefinitely. Nagisa flicked to his gallery, a vast collection of photos ranging from collections of himself with the other yakuza students, specifically his best friend Sugino, Terasaka’s gang, landscapes from when he travelled, Karma, and a great many of himself.

It wasn’t because he had a narcissistic streak, far from it, the photos served as a means to document his work and prepare portfolios for hits, but recently, they’d become a recollection of something pleasant. Karma did love to take his photos, especially in cute underwear.

Nagisa pondered only for a moment if his experience would be enhanced if he slipped on some lacy panties.

Deciding against it, the assassin propped himself on his knees and pressed his chest against the soft sheets, setting up a slideshow of his chosen photoset and ghosting his fingers down the contour of his skin and towards his growing erection.

Spreading his legs slightly, then a little more. Another appreciative sigh leaving his lips as he toyed with the dial. It didn’t quite feel the same when Karma wasn’t the one behind the controls. He’d yet to find the phone app either in case Karma came to discover he borrowed these toys, even if they were only used on him.

“Karma...”

It was a whisper that soon lost itself in the emptiness of the room but it made him blush wildly nonetheless.

Bracing his arm against the bed forcing himself to watch the images flick across his screen as his unoccupied hand retreated from the dial to wrap around his weeping, red cock.  Shuddering at the touch and swiping his fingers over the tip before working itself into a steady pace along his shaft.

Sparing a moment to turn the dial to max the extra rush of stimulation made Nagisa groaned louder, biting into the sheets in an effort to prevent himself from becoming _too_ loud his vision became obscured by strands of blue. How fitting, it was about now Karma had blindfolded him. Turns out the sneaky devil slipped three photos of him.

Unknown to him however, the sneaky redhead _had_ heard his moans, and was shamelessly spying on him through the keyhole of the door. Squinting and angling in just the right way he could catch a glimpse of Nagisa’s reflection in the mirror so long as he didn’t move. Naturally this put his neither in an uncomfortable predicament, but he too was so deprived of everything that was Nagisa, he could get off to the memory of it after.

In honesty, Nagisa didn’t much like these quick sessions when Karma wasn’t there, but he was pressed for time.

To his credit the memory even now was still so fresh in his mind, with no other clients in between to distract his mind or shut him off, it was easy to relive the memory and it was definitely one of his favourite memories.

He came with a long ragged moan against the sheets, cupping his hands around his cock in an effort to prevent a mess and save for a couple stray drops he was successful. It was a little hard to breathe and not just because his face was pressed for firmly into the bed. His throat was dry but body was humming in all the right ways.

Before he could let fatigue take over he carefully rolled over and off the bed to clean himself up in the ensuite. It gave the peeping Karma time to skedaddle before slipping silently into the room as Nagisa exited downstairs.

Listening carefully to the sound of the fridge opening downstairs and the extractor fan kicking into gear above the stove before deeming it safe enough to flop down on the bed. The lingering scent of Nagisa attacked his senses, exciting his already growing erection from the other’s earlier show. 

Hands already in his pants and stroking his cock, Karma moaned in relief against the sheets. But it wasn’t what he planned to do. He was getting ahead of himself.

Reluctantly withdrawing his hand, he moved to the wardrobe and fished out an item of Nagisa’s and wandered back over to the bed.

Lying on his back, he was careful to position himself where Nagisa had been. If they were doing this together their lips could touch, their straining cocks could meet, he could admire and love that body looming over him as their collective moans filled the room.  The fabric of his pants were becoming increasingly uncomfortable but they were not his first priority.

Unfolding the near sky blue clothing he ensured the fabric covered his nose and obscured his vision. He wanted to feel like Nagisa was _there_ with him.

With the fabric in place he gave himself a moment in take in the intoxicating scent, closing his eyes to enhance the feeling even more as he undid his shirt before tending to his belt with shaky hands. Fumbling a little with the button before tugging the zipper down and kicking his pants most of the way off his legs and bunching his boxers down to his knees.

Swallowing hard, he spread his legs and traced a finger around his entrance. His teeth barely catch his lip as he slipped the first finger inside while his other hand wrapped around his shape and gave a generous tug.

Gasping was the best and worst thing. With each and every gasp his took in more of Nagisa’s scent it made him all the more excited. The scent brought back all the memories of Nagisa. Nothing in particular just simply _him._ His lips, his bright eyes, his soft blue hair, his _voice..._

 _“A-Ah! Nagi-sa...ngh...”_ He moaned, bucking against his fingers, urging them desperately to go deeper.

Pushing in the second finger the stretch was heavenly. He struggled to stay in control as he fingers scissored and worked himself open. He imagined what the other would do if he walked in. Would he hate him? Would he tie him up? Pin him down? _Fuck_ him? The mere thought of Nagisa pulling his fingers out and replacing them with his cock was earth shattering.

His cock was painfully hard and weeping down the length providing extra lubricant that almost seemed to echo throughout the room in a lewd, wet, mess in time to the thrusting of his fingers.

He wanted to add a third to the mix but his body was overwhelmed. The smell of Nagisa, the sound of lube slicked skin. His back arched as his fingers brushed his prostate while the other paid particular attention to the leaking slit of his cock. It was becoming impossible to hold back his voice as he writhed against the sheets on the border of climax.

Just as he found the perfect angle to fuck himself to completion and a single loud, _sharp_ gasp pierced the room, the pleasure he expected was instead replaced by a spark of mortification as the doorknob turned with a loud thunk and swing open.

Like a child caught in the act of stealing the last cookie, Karma instinctively _froze_ as if it would somehow render him invisible to the piercing gaze of the male who just walked through the door. How could he have forgotten to _lock the fucking door?_ He was so embarrassed. Caught fingering his ass and jerking off with his face buried in the other’s underwear.

The silence was suffocating, then it was gone and Nagisa exited the room without saying a word.

“N-Nagisa!” Karma scrambled to remove his fingers, wiping them on his pants as he swung himself over the side of the bed, struggling to zip his pants up without catching his junk as he followed the other downstairs, catching Nagisa by the wrist only when they hit the hallway.

Face flushed, his breath coming out short and ragged, he was trembling and his cock aching from being on the edge. He had to lean against the wall for support as the uncomfortable feeling of wetness damped the front of his pants.

“Nagisa, _please._ I want to apologise.” He begged. They hadn’t talked all week and it was driving him insane. He’d been angry Nagisa wasn’t taking a logical approach to their disagreement, but soon enough that anger turned to sympathy.

“I’m s-sorry for being so shameful.” He struggled to speak coherently, desperately trying to ignore the fabric brushing against his nether. This is not how he wasn’t to apologise, this wasn’t what he wanted to apologise for either. Yes he’d been shameless, but there was a much bigger issue that needed to be addressed.

“I’m sorry for being short sighted, I was selfish, and I ignored the reality that Korosensei is family to you.” His eyes began to tear up as Nagisa refused to acknowledge him. Standing still as stone facing the lounge as Karma poured out his apologies for being so cruel as to almost persuade Nagisa to murder what may as well have been his crazy uncle.

Crazy or not Korosensei had _saved_ Nagisa, given him a home and helped him towards a purpose in life and for what? For him to be so heartless as to suggest just doing away with the old man like that just because he was dying from cancer.

Regardless of Korosensei’s status, this was arguably his biggest fuck up to date and he felt truly horrible for it. He wouldn’t blame Nagisa for not forgiving him. He just hoped they could at least talk again before the contract ended.

What ruined Nagisa though, was turning to the sound of a distressed sniff and the tears so very close to falling from Karma’s eyes. The redhead was trying so hard not to cry in front of him. Nagisa couldn’t stand Karma crying. His proud and confident Karma breaking was one of the most soul crushing things he ever witnessed.

The worst part was mixed with his still flushed face from arousal and screwed up expression trying so desperately not to cry was incredibly attractive.

As angry as he still was, it had been a torturous week without Karma at his side. He’d been missing the kisses, the flirting, the touching. Before walking in on Karma hadn’t been the first time this week he’d gotten off while thinking about Karma, nor had Karma been the only one jerking off with an article of clothing from the other.

It had been a mission in itself keeping his voice in check as he pleasured himself beneath the sheets of the familiar sofa bed. The occasional gasp or moan escaping into the night serving only to heighten his pleasure on the off chance Karma would come downstairs for a drink and catch him in the act, or remain oblivious as Nagisa continued his sinful act.

Karma’s grip slackened as he slid a little further down the wall. This was also attractive, and probably the straw that broke the camel’s back, Karma _beneath_ him.

His moan was audible, rebounding off the walls of the narrow hallway and the relief was intense. Nagisa pressing his body flush against his own bringing his softening erection back to life. Like this they were about the same height and Karma couldn’t care less about the bend of his long legs if it meant he could be close to Nagisa once more. He could really go for some rough sex right about now.

Nagisa took delight in hearing that lewd sound falling from Karma’s lips and decided a bit of payback was in order.

“Don’t think I’ve forgiven you just yet, I’m still mad. But I have missed you greatly.” He informs, biting at Karma’s ear, rocking gently as he unzipped the redhead’s pants once more. Karma could do nothing but nod his head desperate and try pulling the other close.

“You’re so needy, will you beg for me?” Nagisa cooed, planting a little kiss on the side of his mouth, teeth tugging at his bottom lip in a teasing manner, not quite kissing him where the needy redhead wanted Nagisa’s lips. Repeating the notion until finally he heard a little pleading moan.

“You need to do more than that.” Pressing himself hard against Karma’s body effectively trapping him between himself and the wall, continuing in rough, calculated rolls of his hips until he finally broke down in a waterfall of pleads.

Nagisa wasn’t about to give him satisfaction that quickly however and indulged in the desperate gasp at the sudden loss of contact when he pulled away and watched the redhead sliding down the wall.

His boxers were so wet you wouldn’t have guessed they were originally a light blue. His dishevelled state once of Nagisa’s favourite expressions and kneeing down he lovingly brushed back his fringe.

“You’re face has gone all red, Karma, perhaps we should stop.” He mused and Karma reached out once more to prevent Nagisa from walking away, not that he planned to. The assassin was far from done with his punishment.

“Take off your pants, boxers too.” He instructed and Karma was all too willing to abide, kicking the clothing off and pushing it out of the way, his cock standing at full attention and dripping with precome. It was so tempting, to throw away his plan and suck Karma off right there and then, but he had a better idea.

“I want you to show me _exactly_ what you were doing in our room.”

Karma’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion but soon enough he was sitting back against the wall, legs spread, and hand working his cock once more. With Nagisa watching him so intently it was hard to contain himself from coming immediately. But somehow he knew Nagisa wouldn’t be this kind.

“I forbid you from coming until I say so, understand?” Karma nodded and watched as Nagisa rose from his spot, kissing his forehead before making his way upstairs. Was he leaving him here? For how long? How long did he have to endure feeling or torment? Perhaps he could come and work himself back up...

That plan, like several of his plans today was cut down as he heard the returning footsteps of Nagisa down the stairs. In his hands were two phones. One was his own and the others was... Nagisa’s?

Sliding down the wall opposite Karma, he swiftly put in Karma’s lock pin he’d memorised in the first week of meeting the redhead, he flicked open the camera app and took a photo.

“Honestly I didn’t know you were inside,” Nagisa chuckled, posing the other with silent gestures and snapping more photos. “I just left my phone behind. Too bad you didn’t notice it. I took the password off. You would have seen all my photos including my frilly bikini.”

Karma gave a sad pathetic whine.

“You get off to your own photos?”

“I get off to the memory of the photos,” He elaborated, lowering the camera to smile sweetly. “My time with you. I thought I told you not to come.” He playfully scolded as the thought of Nagisa getting off to their make out sessions pushed him over the edge. He couldn’t even whimper out an apology before Nagisa was unzipping his pants and freeing his own hardening cock.

“How cruel of you not to wait for me,” He pouted before his voice dropped to that all too seductive tone that Karma knew meant the other was about to ruin him in the best way possible. “Stand up, I want to come inside you.”

It was one of those times Karma was glad that despite how long it could take to get Nagisa off the first time, the second time he was much easier to rile up, and the third whenever the smaller male was feeling particularly frisky. Three times was few and far between, he could never match Nagisa’s ridiculous stamina.

Bracing himself against the wall behind him, Karma pulled himself up enough for Nagisa to press himself against him once more and kissing him sweetly.

“You’ve prepared yourself already right?” He purred, slipping two fingers in. Scissoring his insides and brushing his prostate, watching the way Karma melted against him as overstimulation slowly brought his twitching cock back to up. The downside? Or upside? Of Nagisa training his body to last as long as him, at this point he couldn’t decide. He wanted to lie down, but he also wanted Nagisa inside. In his arms. He just wanted Nagisa completely once more.

“ _Please._ ” Was all he could mutter before Nagisa removed his fingers and replaced them with his cock. Slipping through the warm ring of muscles as Karma arched against him, moaning all the way.

Then he was moving. Slow and rough against the wall, Karma fingers scrambled to hold on to his shoulders for support as he was left gasping and moaning into the hall.

Squeezing his eyes closed tightly and head lolling back against the wall as Nagisa continued his relentless assault inside. Mouth agape and a thin line of dribble falling from his mouth as the ecstasy of their passion brought him to greater heights, forbidding his body from closing his mouth to swallow it back. 

Nagisa couldn’t take his eyes off of him, he was being a bit rougher than usual but the way Karma was reacting was intoxicating his world narrowed entirely down to what Nagisa was doing to him. He wanted to hear more of him, feel more of him. A week without his redhead had made him needy too.

“Do you deserve to come?” He questioned breathlessly and Karma couldn’t help but whine.

It was a trick question. To say yes meant he thought himself forgiven while to say no meant he would likely be left unsatisfied and empty once more.

“ _Please._ ” He whimpered and Nagisa was satisfied with the answer.

Shifting to brush against the sweet spot he’d been purposely avoiding, Karma practically _screamed_ as Nagisa increased his pace. Fingernails scratching the fabric of his clothes, biting and sucking into his exposed neck. His body trembling as Nagisa fucked him to satisfaction until finally the duo reached their climax with a long satisfied groan.

Once more Nagisa pulled away to watch him crumble.

The pleasurable waves of heat that radiated from his core lingered for a moment alongside his erratic breathing before finally beginning to drop with the cooler room temperature.

Nagisa admired Karma’s dishevelled look as he slid down the face of the wall. If his legs were like jello before, they may as well have been nonexistent now. Nagisa couldn’t tell if he simply enjoyed the look when he ruined the redhead, or if it was the absence making his heart yearn for attention.

Karma’s head lolled back wearily as he managed to wrangle his breathing back under control, the blue haired male crouching in front of him and tugging gently on a fastened button of his shirt.

“You’ve made quite the mess of yourself haven’t you?” He asked with the most devilish of smiles that would put any of Karma’s to shame.

Karma on the other hand couldn’t bring himself to find the words to reply as Nagisa wrapped an arm around to pull him into somewhat of a standing pose. It was times like this Nagisa felt truly blessed to have a lithe frame of near 100% muscle. Karma was practically dead weight.

Careful not to trip over the discarded pants, Nagisa walked them the short distance to the downstairs bathroom. To Karma’s credit, he really was trying, the frustration evident in the way his eyebrows knitted together whenever his leg couldn’t quite support his weight.

By the time they’d reached the shower Karma could stand by himself. Leaning against the tiled wall as Nagisa relieved himself of his clothes. Reaching for his own, Nagisa shot him a deadly glance that had him quick to stiffen.

Like a serpent cornering its prey, Nagisa approached the other once more. Reaching past to turn on the water and dousing them under the spray.  Karma let out a startled whimper as the freezing liquid plastered the fabric to his toned body. It was like being touched all over again. Karma’s body couldn’t cope and Nagisa knew it. At least he felt more awake now.

The blue haired male watched with interest as he casually reached for the shampoo, pouring a generous amount into his hand before massaging the apple scented mix into his hair, paying particular attention to soothing the aching roots as if Karma wasn’t even there cowering in the corner. He shifted and squirmed under the cold spray and goosebumps spread like wildfire as his body began to tremble.

Deciding Karma has taken enough punishment for one day, he leaned into the water to rinse out the bubbles, deftly rubbing conditioner into the tips before pulling at Karma’s skirt.

Undoing the buttons one by one, tugging them forward so the weight of the wet fabric would almost snap back against the redhead’s skin causing him the shift and his breathing quicken before finally he set to work peeling off the fabric and unceremoniously dropping it to the titled floor.

Karma all but slumped against Nagisa’s body in an effort to warm up before the other flipped the switch to hot, drawing out a relieved sigh instantly. Arms loosely slung over his shoulders and around his neck and his face snuggled into the crook as Nagisa set to work washing his hair.

It would have taken considerably less time seeing how short Karma’s hair was compared to his own, but it took just as long as the shorter male massaged his scalp until the redhead was practically asleep in his arms.

“No sleeping yet, Karma.”

The words broke Karma from his daze as he fought to stay awake.

With their bodies cleaned up, Nagisa turned off the shower, making sure to push the nozzle up so the water wouldn’t drip for the rest of the day before gathering the clothes littering the floor and tossing them into the washing basket before grabbing the towel.

He’d intended to shower anyway.

Quickly drying himself off enough to toss the towel at Karma, Nagisa quickly chucked on shorts and a shirt before cleaning up the mess of Karma’s clothes in the hallway. Walking down to the hot water cupboard to grab boxers, a loose pair of pants, and plain black t-shirt for Karma and an extra towel for himself to catch his dripping hair, before returning to the bathroom.

Despite having been gone no more than a few minutes, Karma hadn’t gotten any further than drying most of his body and lazily leaving the towel on his head. He may as well have fallen asleep standing.

A resigned huff and gentle provoking later, Karma got into his pants and now rested between Nagisa’s legs on the floor as the other dried his hair.

It was a difficult procedure as Karma had one arm slung over Nagisa’s thigh and his head resting against it as he dozed in and out of consciousness.

Before long Nagisa had finished and the gentle rise and fall of Karma’s diaphragm signified he’d fallen asleep. It was oddly adorable and Nagisa couldn’t bring himself to be irritated at the redhead.

Leaving the towel draped over his head, Nagisa made quick work of drying the tips of his own and running his fingers from root to tip in an attempt to untangle knots before taking up both towels and leaving them neatly folded on the end of the sofa.

“You’re infuriating sometimes you know that?” He asked, absently running his fingers through Karma’s short hair.

Karma continued to sleep on and before long Nagisa’s legs began to feel numb and he slid himself up onto the couch, pulling the other up to join him and snuggling in close. His smaller form fit so nicely in Karma’s embrace, his head resting comfortably on his chest, arms wrapped under his arms, and tangling their legs to keep the other warm between his body and the back of the sofa.

“What am I going to do with you?” He sighed, slipping into a comfortable slumber. A short nap wouldn’t be a bad idea.

*  *  *

Karma blinked against the harsh light streaming through the window it must have been about noon. The redhead had cut their cuddle session short the night before when it dawned on him that by morning Nagisa would no longer be bound to him by contract. For the man who had tried so hard to persuade his bodyguard to stay, the thought of once more waking up to an empty bed had been too much, not that going to bed without the other body was much better. Why try to hold onto that thread of hope when he could at least attempt to begin the process of getting over the blue haired boy.

So when he finally rose from the sheets shortly after midday, the sight of Nagisa meant one of two things. Someone had snapped him up already and ordered a hit. Or he was here to stay.

“Are you here to kill me?”  Karma asked and Nagisa’s head tilted to the side, smiling ever so sweetly.

The blue haired assassin swiftly closed the gap between them and for the briefest of moments a wash of fear overcame Karma, as if Nagisa was about to pull a knife and run him through, but as the other pushed himself on tip toes to reach his lips the fear drained and Karma melted instantly against those soft lips.

“What do you think?” Nagisa questioned, pulling back just enough for the question to ghost over Karma’s lips before resealing them once more.

Karma’s heart skipped a beat.

Nagisa felt himself being pushed against the wall. Or was it the door? He wasn’t entirely sure because Karma’s lips had slipped from his own, mapping the expanse of his neck. Each patch of pale skin Karma’s teeth nibbled and sucked, almost desperately, left a cold spot that made Nagisa’s head spin. Suddenly, his teeth sunk in too deep at the collarbone. Nagisa squirmed and the soft noise he made only enticed Karma to bite harder.

Trailing the string of love bites back up to his lips, Karma nipped playfully once before kissing Nagisa deeply. Nagisa more than willingly kissing back.

As their kisses grew in intensity and passion, Nagisa frantically tugged at his tie. Karma smirked. He wasn’t the only one affected by this.

Nagisa walked them backwards into their room, forcefully pushing Karma down onto the bed wasting no time in straddling him. Karma loved that side of Nagisa, the side that could kill as easily as it could seduce, the side that now dominated him.

Nagisa wasted no time stripping himself of his clothes before taking Karma’s (very willing) wrists in hand, before holding them against the headboard and meeting Karma’s content gaze.

“Requests?” He finds himself asking, leaning down to kiss the redhead’s forehead. It wasn’t uncommon for a slower or more special session of intimacy to begin in such a way.

“Slow?” Karma replies with a gentle nip to the other’s bottom lip. If Nagisa was keen to have his way with him, he wanted to feel it all, feel everything that this beautiful male had to give him.

Nagisa secured a tie around the headboard, keeping Karma’s hands in place while his naked thighs created a delicious kind of friction as they shifted sluggishly against Karma’s hips.

Karma growled out a hum of approval and at that Nagisa smirked in the playful way he loved so much.

“No promises.”

The familiar and eager press of Nagisa’s smooth skin against his growing erection had him spilling quiet groans of delight, spurring the blue haired male on more. The groans soon gained in volume and need as Karma feels the dip of Nagisa’s ass teasing his clothed erection.

The erotic sounds triggered something in the smaller male and in the next moment, Nagisa was shuffling back on the bed and taking Karma’s pajama pants with him.

Karma hissed as the cool air caressed his exposed cock before a loud gasp ripped from his throat as Nagisa swallowed him to the base in one fluid motion. He wanted to buck into that delicious heat, throw away all pretence of going slow and savouring the moment in favour of drowning in the pleasure Nagisa provided.

Breath coming out in hot pants and Nagisa’s grip firmly kept him in place; Karma couldn’t take his eyes off Nagisa. No matter how many times they’d done this, he still looked so attractive like this. Nagisa remained still and hummed, nose pressed against the red curls, and then, he started sucking.

Karma could only groan as he was swallowed and sucked upon with unrelenting force, up and down, again and again. Nagisa was greedy and his technique was absolutely brutal. He easily brought Karma to his climax, letting the bitter saltiness wash over his tongue, swallowing it whole before practically licking Karma’s cock clean.

He had no trouble bringing the organ back to hardness, shamefully so, not that Karma really cared. Nagisa had trained his body in a way, to match his stronger libido.

He loved that familiar raw look plastered across Karma’s face. Mouth slightly ajar with short pants, shuddering, hair plastered against his forehead, eyes distant and clouded with lust. He was completely at his mercy. It was perfect.

Nagisa leaned in to kiss Karma’s inner thigh and sparing the taller male a playful glance before clamping his teeth down on the sensitive skin. Karma couldn’t help but squirm and moan at the sensation. Nagisa kissed the mark he had made. It would last a while.

As the mark began to darken, Nagisa sat up and crawled back into Karma’s lap before leaning down to meet his lips half way. Messy and unprofessional, the wet press of lips against each other so enticing, and drawing out even more lewd sounds from the two of them. Karma’s hands itched to touch, to roam across the other’s beautiful and scarred body.

Nagisa tasted Karma in alternate laps of his tongue while Karma devoured Nagisa every chance he could. Of course, it was Nagisa’s lead so he couldn’t conquer the other unless Nagisa actually wished for it.

Their lips parted with them panting harshly, but satisfied.

Bracing a hand against Karma’s chest, Nagisa lined himself up with the weeping cock beneath him before sinking down. He did not need to prepare himself having done so earlier, a factor he thanked himself for taking initiative to do so before entering the room for he was growing impatient and wanted the redhead inside sooner rather than later.

Karma couldn’t help the smirk that spread across his lips, thoroughly enjoying the performance in front of him, watching as Nagisa’s hot ass easily took him to the base.

Nagisa’s head jerked back as Karma gave a shallow thrust, the feeling so fresh and full he couldn’t help the erotic moan that escaped his lips. Nagisa truly was the most beautiful, in and out of bed.

Karma had never been so happy to have company.

After a moment to centre himself and grow accustomed to the hot stretch, Nagisa rocked his hips experimentally and shuddered at the fullness. He started too moving slowly, eyeing Karma’s smug face with glazed eyes.

“Too slow?” He questions, his voice not as composed as he would have liked.

“Take your time.” Karma tells him, silently grateful their pace had slowed so he could enjoy himself as much as he initially planned to.

Why wouldn’t he be enjoying it? He had a front row seat to watch his cock disappearing into the eager ass of the man he loved over and over again. The man who, despite everything, came back for him.

Nagisa found his rhythm soon enough and began to move with greater intensity, greater need. Content on dragging himself up and down on Karma’s cock until on one particular descend, Karma thrust his hips upwards hitting Nagisa’s prostate. Nagisa cried out from the unexpected, but inevitable strike of pleasure, falling forward and clutching Karma’s shoulders tightly, his long hair slipping from his shoulders to frame his reddening face, panting harshly and Karma continued to meet his motions with every thrust.

They repeated it. Over and over, dragging out strangled shouts and whimpers from Nagisa as his sweet spot continued to be abused. Karma loved the sight of Nagisa lost in insatiable lust.

Nagisa squeezed around Karma tightly, keeping a close eye on his face. Nagisa knew he was close. So close. Just a little more.

The smacking sound of Nagisa’s slick ass against Karma’s thighs drove them both to the brink of madness, the wanton moans of Nagisa only made Karma want to drive into him harder. 

He was so unbelievably happy, he loved Nagisa so much, and the other finally returned his feelings. It was overwhelming enough that small tears threatened to fall from the corners of his eyes as he lost himself in everything that was Nagisa.

Karma thrust his deepest into Nagisa causing the other’s body to go rigid, his eyes squeezing shut as he screamed, his insides contracting around Karma, dragging them both to their climax.

Karma had only sighed from his pleasure-filled high, instinctively arching forward slightly to draw the other out of his instinctive bloodlust through kiss, eyes still unfocused with lust, when Nagisa swiftly swiped the pistol from his discarded pants. There wasn’t a moment to lose. He aimed, and pulled the trigger.

A perfect headshot.

Nagisa was trained in the art of seduction thus it was only natural for Karma’s demise to be while he experienced the most pleasurable sensation. But as the blood splattered across the headboard and decorated the pillows in specks of crimson, Nagisa breathed a sigh of relief, running a hand through his hair. His contract was complete.

Gakuho Asano had contracted him to infiltrate the Akabane gang and kill Karma after discovering everything necessary to cripple it from the inside out.  He knew his son would not approve of his methods, but this way would ensure there was nothing in the way of Asano’s reign.

Nagisa dropped the gun on their bed. His hands sexually mapped the dripping blood over Karma’s chest and across his heart.

“Happy Birthday, Karma. I came back for you.”

*  *  *

The nightmare didn’t end there, for it was Terasaka who discovered Karma’s body still bound to the headboard of the shared bed, dried blood trailing from the gunshot between the eyes, down over his chest with a distinctive and deliberate swipe across his heart.

He had been late to answer the door, and after a few minutes of increased frustration the older man had barged into his boss’ house to confront him, only to have the colour from his face drain and with shaky hands, reach for his cell phone.

“Akabane, Karma is...”

The culprit was obvious simply from their absence at the scene, Nagisa’s contract had ended but it seemed unusual for him to have been snapped up so quickly in order of a hit. To their friends and rival gangs, they all believed Nagisa loved Karma as much as he did him. It was difficult, almost sickening to think that Nagisa’s affections were not genuine but if it were so, he had played them all for fools.

*  *  *

Not even an hour later Akabane had called for a meeting and the inhabitants of the room sat wide-eyed as Abakane stood behind his son’s usual seat, a bodyguard both side, and demanded to know who contracted Nagisa to assassinate his son.

Rio had only just begun frantically reading over her documents, looking for something out of place that could explain a contract put in place before or after the one that bound Nagisa to Karma, when none other than Gakuho Asano walked into the room. Arms wide in an almost mocking welcome gesture. Openly admitting Karma’s death had been conducted by his hand.

Gakushu near jumped from his seat like a startled cat as Nagisa soon joined his father his shirt propped open due to its missing tie and throat still coloured red and purple with hickies. He placed a folder of documents on the table before sliding them across to the other.

Akabane swiped the folder up, reading over the contract and its payments all signed, as Gakuho practically boasted how the other father couldn’t do anything about it. He was the Minister of Justice in this corrupt town. Akabane had enough time to bury his son in the cemetery before he would be exiled, shot on sight if he ever returned. Without missing a beat he continued, turning to Gakushu to congratulate him on his new bodyguard, gesturing to Nagisa who simply smiled.

In reality, Korosensei had presented Nagisa with two contracts, one from Akabane and one from Asano. He had never asked which one the young assassin had chosen. Nagisa had signed them both, but in the final moments he’d torn and burned the one binding him to Akabane sealing his fate and preventing him from ever breaking free of his past.

Gakushu was petrified.

It was the same smile he’d seen the blue haired boy give Karma. Everything was happening too fast for his brain to process. Gakushu was under the impression the two were an item or if not, that they would eventually end up together, but now Karma was dead and his father had just bestowed his murderer as his own bodyguard. He felt trapped, terrified of Nagisa. He could only divert his eyes towards Akabane with sympathy and sorrow mixed with his own uncertainness. He never hated Karma. They were rivals who had a similar goal and wanted to achieve it with the other’s endorsement. Their stubbornness was what made it fun. It was their banter that let them build their organizations to properly push each other to aim higher. They were each other’s source of motivation and now that was gone.

Gakuho stopped mid-step on route to the door as Gakushu spoke up.

“I refuse. My father just used you to kill Karma, you used his feelings to make him defenceless. How do I know my father isn't paying to do the same to me?"

Nagisa blinked for a moment as if taken aback if only for a moment, before sliding up close to the blonde. He doesn’t back down. Not when Nagisa trails his hands along his sides and up his thighs. Not when Nagisa trails them over his crotch and chest. Not when the other trapped him in a loose embrace as he whispered into the taller boy’s ear.

“Even if I have, under my contract, only Gakuho can fire me.”

Gakushu's breath catches in fear of how easily Nagisa is manipulating him and that he has no escape, of course he didn’t when it involved his father. Nagisa smiles and retracts his hand but not before squeezing lightly and follows Gakuho out of the room.

"I hope we can get along, Gakushu."

*  *  *

One day a month however, Nagisa would ask for a day off where he was not Gakushu's bodyguard and Gakuho allowed it. He never tells the other where he goes but naturally curiosity won out and he began to follow the other. Unsuccessfully at first, but eventually the efforts pay off and he finds Nagisa at the cemetery. Sitting in front of a grave. Holding the same species of red flower that Karma had held in his mouth back when they danced together. As Gakushu approaches it suddenly dawns on him. It’s the 25th.

Gakushu does not approach the smaller man. He wondered if it was simply a coincidence but no matter which way he looked at it only one conclusion came to mind. Nagisa truly felt remorse for taking Karma's life.

He knew it was dangerous to be out here alone, not that his father really cared whether he lived or died, nor did he know what sort of bindings Nagisa had to his father in relation to his own contract. But the questions had plagued him every waking moment since Karma's assassination.

Hesitant, the blonde haired male approached blue. There was no way the other couldn't hear his approach but even so he felt like he had to be silent. Respectful. As if he was attending the funeral once more.

Gakushu didn’t say anything as he stopped just short of the other. From this angle he could see the remnants of tear stained cheeks while he smaller boy shook ever so slightly. Was it from the cold? Or sadness? He couldn't tell.

"Have you at least told him why?" It was more of a rhetorical question but the question nonetheless caused the smaller to turn his head towards Gakushu, but not meeting his gaze.

"You said you loved him, he deserves at least that much."

Gakushu wasn’t a believer of spirits and the afterlife but Karma had always joked about it so it felt only right to bring it up now and perhaps, he too wished to know the answers. Perhaps this would be the push to get Nagisa to actually open up.

However Nagisa remained quiet. It was deafening, and it infuriated Gakushu. He wanted to punch the other in that perfect face but couldn’t bring himself to do so, considering the other was a trained assassin it probably was for the best.

He sighed deeply. His voice was quiet, almost lost to the rising wind. "Why didn't you just cancel the contract? My father can't go against Korosensei's word. You could have stayed with him. You wouldn't be mourning his loss month after month on the same date you broke his heart."

It was a question he had asked several times before. Slamming the smaller boy into the ground and straddling his waist in attempt to immobilize his arms, Gakushu had pressed a gun to his temple. He hadn’t expected to overpower the assassin and knew that if he really wanted the tables would be flipped in an instant. But Nagisa had just lay there as if he’d already given up. The stoic facade seemed to be slipping and the blonde felt as if he’d just slammed a disabled child. A wash of guilt overcame him before snapping back to reality. For all he knew this could just be another trick. He pressed the gun harder.

Nagisa had ignored his question and freed a hand to wrap it around Gakushu’s, sliding the barrel down his features before letting it catch under his chin. He had tiled his head back to expose more of that vulnerable skin. Gakushu’s eyes widened, body paralyzed as Nagisa dared him to shoot.

He couldn’t pull the trigger.

"...He didn't suffer." Nagisa finally spoke up.

Gakushu's breath caught in his throat. Gakushu half wanted to press for more information, but at the same time he feared speaking out would cause Nagisa to stop. Instead the other answered his unspoken question on his own.

"The last thing he experienced was pleasure. I refused to let him die any other way."

"But why?" Gakushu questioned under breath not to anyone in particular.

Nagisa again feel to a state of silence. The wind picked up blowing their clothes dramatically bringing with it an icy chill that hinted snow.

"I..." Nagisa's voice caught in his throat. He hated how vulnerable he felt in that moment. He felt like a child again, hiding from the worker that threatened his death and his mother's. Putting on a mask to hide his gender, unable to fight back against a world that was adamant on killing men and exploiting women. It made him feel sick.

"I was afraid to feel helpless again. To not have control over my life."

His voice dropped to a whisper. "Karma made me feel so helpless. Like he could fix any problem that I didn’t even know I had. His kindness disarmed me. It scared me that someone could have that much control over my life again. I felt like if he wanted, he could kill me."

it wasn’t the first time Gakushu's emotions were a literal mess, if he was being honest, they hadn’t stopped being a mess since his father had blatantly announced he was the one who hired Nagisa to get close to Karma and assassinate him after learning the gang's secrets only to, in the same conversation, inform him that the killer was now his bodyguard. Still he couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy to Nagisa, and sadness at the reminder that Nagisa could never have been his. Not truly.

Nagisa leaned forward to rest his head against the tombstone, the cold bite of rock sending a shiver down his spine.

"I'm sorry for being weak, Karma."

Gakushu's expression softened as he removed his jacket to place around the other's shoulders. Turning to head back the way he came, perhaps go for a walk to clear his head a little. To process this new information.

"Don't catch a cold."

He called and Nagisa mouthed a silent ‘thank you’ before the tears began to roll once more.

*  *  *

The arrangement was strained at best. Gakushu discovered easily enough Nagisa had been contracted to keep him in line, seduce him as he had done to Karma but not for the sake of gathering information, but to ‘sway’ the blonde into following his father’s plots. He had tried to fight against Nagisa but who was he kidding, he was dealing with a professional whom had had an entire year to observe him next to Karma.

Korosensei too had asked for Nagisa to visit him in hospital right up to the day he died, but the assassin never did come and the Yakuza boss never learnt where he went wrong in helping the boy grow. Irina took the development hard as well. Nagisa was her star pupil, the one she mentored and trained since the day he was first brought in my Korosensei. The days spent teaching and nurturing his skill, the days spent tending to him and preparing him for a day he might finally leave all seemed a distant memory and in the arms of Karasuma, she found herself almost mourning the loss of a son. She felt as much to blame as Korosensei and in much the same way as the boss; Nagisa never returned her calls either.

Sex became as much of a means to keep Gakushu’s influence away from meetings as it was a simple abuse of his slip of the tongue about his crush on Nagisa over a year prior. Slowly his will began to break as it became increasingly apparent he was at the mercy of his father’s plans.

Gakushu only instinctively thrust up into the other’s hot body as Nagisa dragged himself up and down, over and over on the blonde’s cock. Tugging him towards climax with a weak moan. Nagisa’s bloodlust had disappeared after Karma’s death. He was no threat to Gakushu like this. But Gakushu had other ideas and if he was being honest, he saw it coming.

“Nagisa. Would you take every coin to my name and kill me. Karma is dead and my father has me prisoner in my own home. I have nothing more to live for.”

His eyes were distant, the life having left them long ago. In part due to his father. In part due to Nagisa.

Carefully the smaller boy eased himself off of Gakushu to straddle his torso.

“Gakushu, your father has contracted me to keep you in line.”

“My father now controls everything. I’m merely a pawn that cannot defy its king. I want to be free from this torment, I don’t care if it hurts him or not, I just want it to end. Please, Nagisa-kun.”

The blue haired man looked down the Gakushu. He was a shell of his former self without a doubt and not one to make a decision without thinking it through to its fullest. But it still felt wrong hearing those words from his lips. How the mighty have fallen might have been the right phrase. Either way it hurt to see him like this. Karma’s death had affected him more than he let on to anyone.

Nagisa pondered for a moment, simply staring down into those sad brown eyes that literally begged him for release. It was soothing in a way really. He’d been contemplating ending himself since he pulled the trigger on Karma.

“A double suicide.” Nagisa proposed and for the faintest moment, those brown eyes glazed over with hope. He reached over to his clothes discarded on the edge of the bed and pulled out a small gun, eyeing it like a child in a candy store.

“Do you trust me to end my own life after yours? Or shall we leave this world behind, together?”

Those glazed eyes shifted from hope to sadness to concern then finally to understanding. His question cut off as Nagisa answered.

“I never thought I would regret becoming an assassin. I thought it was the right choice to fight back and feel like I had at least some control over my life. But... what I did to Karma... what I’ve done to you... I can’t take it back.” His voice lowered to a whisper. “If death is the way out, I want to take it. If there is an afterlife I will accept the punishment with open arms.”

They sat in silence perhaps letting the weight of their requests to properly sink in. Nagisa had killed many before, two more wouldn’t be difficult. If Gakushu was serious.

The blonde gestured to the bedside table and Nagisa reached over to retrieve the small gun.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, Nagisa-kun. But I know what you’re thinking, and you do not deserve that kind of death.”

Nagisa looked down at the other. When did he become so easy to read? He had indeed planned to miss his mark just enough to make his death a slow and torturous one. One he feels he deserves.

Leaning forward, Nagisa placed a small kiss upon Gakushu’s forehead before pressing them together and mouthing a silent ‘thank you’. Gakushu was actually quite sensitive. Perhaps it was why he took the fall for his fellow gang mates many times before, it wasn’t out of a desire for respect, but simply because he actually did care. Despite everything, he still cared for the assassin too.

Everything seemed to blur together after that. Sitting in front of each other guns over the other’s chest as Gakushu spilled the location of incriminating evidence to expose his father's corruption, including Karma’s murder, over the phone. There was only so much cocaine the biggest drug lord in the city could hide in his house without being deemed corrupt, even if he had up until now swayed the masses through his authority as Minister of Justice. For the first time since he had become an assassin, Nagisa could feel his hands tremble.

Gakushu noticed this and putting his phone onto speaker, with one hand held his gun to Nagisa’s chest and with the other, wrapped a hand around Nagisa’s, steadily the gun.

“Together, Nagisa.”

His voice was quiet but in that moment it sounded louder and clearer than the voices that screamed and begged them over the phone to put the guns down. They were too far gone to be swayed. This was something they both wanted. A release from the pain that trapped them. Made them helpless. In mere seconds, they would finally be free.

Nagisa couldn’t help but smile.

“Together, Gakushu.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *whispers* this story does have a happy ending, trust me.


	13. December

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More pain, but with fluff.

It wasn’t like him to have dreams so vivid, or reoccurring in such a fashion. He woke in the early hours of morning in a cold sweat, focusing desperately on his breathing exercises as his whole body trembled in fear. It wasn’t so much the fact Nagisa outright _murdered_ him in the dreams, but that Nagisa _regretted_ his choice.

He knew about the other contract with Gakuho but didn’t believe it at first. He couldn’t imagine Nagisa being contracted to both his father and Gakushu’s father at the same time. But the way the dreams played out, it supposed it could make sense.

Burying his head into his knees as he silently sobbed, his anxiety getting the better of him and distracting himself from the inevitable plaguing the far reaches of his mind.

Nagisa however, wasn’t entirely pleased with Karma shifting from the bed. Snaking his arms around Karma’s waist and nuzzling into his chest.

“Karma… its 2am… go back to… sleep…” The sleepy male scolded before yawning in a cute way. Grip tightening ever so slightly as he tried to tug the redhead back close, unaware of the torment in his mind. It was winter and cold outside, snuggled in the sheets was a much nicer place to be. 

“Karma?” He questioned again, looking up with unfocused eyes as the other’s trembling grew more erratic.

“S-sorry.” Was all Karma could get out and Nagisa’s eyes snapped open. He recognized that tone and it meant something was wrong. Pulling himself up, flinching only slight at the frosty bite of the air, and rubbed small circles in Karma’s back.

“Karma it’s okay, you are safe.” He spoke softly. “Concentrate on your breathing. Stay in the present.”

This wasn’t the first time he’d witnessed one of Karma’s anxiety attacks and he doubt it would be at the last. He couldn’t quite remember when he saw the first, but after the deep depression he fell into earlier in the year, he’d consulted Terasaka about it and learnt of Karma’s almost crippling anxiety. Bottling up his feelings behind a confident mask, every month or so he would have a large breakdown out of sight of those around him and pretend to be fine the next day.

It wasn’t really something he’d talked to Karma about it, just kind of silently accepted and acknowledged its existence. Researching and asking how best to help Karma through his attacks and just being there whenever Karma either willingly or not, broke down around him.

Karma was too proud and stubborn to accept help so until he was ready to admit he needed it, Nagisa decided to help piece him back together whenever he shattered and provide whatever support he could.

“You can get through this. Tell me what you need now.” He continued to gently coax the other into returning to reality. His breathing was becoming steadier and his trembling lessening.

“You.” Karma replied tiredly, and Nagisa took it as permission to gently pulled Karma into his arms and back into the comfort of their bed, pulling up the sheets and fluffy duvet to warm them both.

Cupping his face and leaving feather light kisses on his forehead, Karma eventually returned to normal and gave Nagisa a small kiss back. Wrapping their arms around each other and entangling their legs, Karma snuggled as close as humanly possible to the smaller male. Nagisa smiled and stroked his hair.

“I am proud of you. Good job.”

Karma gave a gruff snort but hugged him closer. A quiet ‘thank you’ almost lost as exhaustion threatened to pull him back to the realm of sleep. He rarely told Nagisa what the problem was immediately and Nagisa trusted he would open up to him in his own time.

He watched and waited until his redhead fell back into a peaceful slumber before he too began to drift back off. Who would look after Karma when he was gone?

The idea of Karma suffering in silence when he was bedding another was a distressing thought. He was running out of time and as December 25th grew closer by the day, he began to wonder if it really would be all that bad to drop everything for the adorable male in his arms.

Like that one assignment you’ve been putting off until the absolute last minute, Nagisa opted against thinking about the end of his contract and decided to enjoy each and every day he still had with Karma and pray to whoever would listen that some solution would present itself in the final hours and drifted off back to sleep.

*  *  *

Whether it had slipped his mind or actively been repressing dawning of the final day, it became all too apparent he had run out of time as the two of them sat comfortably watching a late night cheesy Christmas romance.

The tree had been put up in the third week of December, covered from top to toe in decorations of red and silver. ‘Gold is too much and silver reminds me of winter snow.’ Karma had mentioned as Nagisa helped him decorate the tree and room in all its festive glory. It was cute, the way he would sit on the balcony and watch the snowfall for hours at a time.

The snow was particularly heavy tonight and the wind chilling to the bone. They’d snuggled in a tangle of limbs enjoying hot chocolate and marshmallows when the conversation had come about.

“The year has gone by quickly, hasn’t it? Tomorrow you’ll be 24, and our contract will be over.”

It felt so cruel and unfair, how sweetly Nagisa brought back the reality of it all. No matter how close they had become, had it really been enough for Nagisa to even consider staying? When Nagisa went back, would they even still keep in contact? Would they be... friends?

“Karma?” Nagisa question, that sweet voice laced with concern as Karma memorised each and every feature of that perfect face, from the big blue eyes, to the faint silver scars, one more time. The way he laced their fingers giving them a gentle squeeze should be illegal.

“I think I might go upstairs.” He says rather abruptly. Stretching to click stiff back and slipping free of Nagisa’s hold. The rush of cold slapped him in the face like a wet fish.

Nagisa’s gazed followed him with all the worry of an abandoned puppy as Karma kissed him almost sadly, before making his way down the hall and up the stairs. Not once looking back.

At first Nagisa thought Karma was joking, maybe even teasing him. But an hour passed, the movie finished, and there was still no Karma to be seen. It was lonely and cold without the other so with a quick click of the remote, he flicked off the TV, tidied up their collection of blankets and put them back into the hot water cupboard, before he made his away upstairs to the bedroom. It was getting close to their bedtime anyway.

Much to his surprise however, the door was locked. Not the usual locked from the outside like Nagisa used to when they were still in the early days of their contract, but from the inside. Did Karma want to be alone?

“Karma?” He spoke just loud enough for the other to hear if he was dozing. Jiggling the handle it was definitely locked and not stuck.

“Karma, won’t you let me in?” The silence was suffocating.

Pressing an ear to the door and closing his eyes in hopes it might enhance his hearing he could just make out what sounded like muffled sobs.

Inside Karma’s heart felt like it was tearing itself in half. He desperately wanted to get up, unlock the door, and pretend this was all some kind of joke. Pull Nagisa into his arms and cling to him all night. But on the other hand, in less than 12 hours Nagisa would no longer be tied to him. He couldn’t trust himself to respect Nagisa’s boundaries and let the smaller male leave come dawn.

Tears flowed like rivers after a monsoon as he buried his face in the mess of blankets trying to drown out the pained sound of Nagisa’s voice. The sooner he cuts all attachments, the sooner he could try to move on. Terasaka was right. Nagisa wouldn’t give up his job for someone like him.

Sure enough Nagisa’s words grew quiet and with a reluctant ‘goodnight, Karma.’ the footsteps began to fade back down the stairs.

Returning to the cupboard, Nagisa pulled back out the still warm bundle of blankets, returned to the lounge, and pulled out the sofabed.

His thoughts ran rampant in his mind. The confliction of whether he should stay or go hounding him like the plague as he curled up in a ball and tried to fight off his own river of tears. He couldn’t just _leave_ his Yakuza family after everything they had done for him. But Karma felt like _home_ he wanted to remain with Karma, live this life of enjoyment with him. He didn’t want to give Karma to someone else. He wanted him to be _his_.

With shaking hands there was only one thing he could think to do, call his adoptive mother and ask for help.

Swiping the screen and entering his complex but well remembered password, he pulled up the contacts, and typed in ‘mom’. Irina’s contact popped up. He hit dial, wiped the collecting tears from his eyes, and waited for her to pick up.

"Nagisa?” The sleepy voice mumbled over the phone. “You don't normally call on my personal phone is everything alright?"

He wanted to speak, but the tears were already accumulating in his eyes. His lip was quivering and it was a mission to try and keep his breathing in check and he clutched the phone desperately in hand.

He could hear the shuffling of the sheets over the speaker as Irina sat upright in bed. He felt guilty for waking her from her no doubt peaceful slumber in the arms of Karasuma. At the same time however, he felt a stab of jealousy, he wanted to sleep in the arms of his love too.

"Nagisa?" She inquired again only to be met with more silence.

Her motherly instinct told her enough to know the other was trembling and trying to find the words to express what he felt. He very rarely got like this but she'd learnt very quickly the key was patience.

"Nagisa. Sweetie what's wrong? Did something happen with Karma?"

Nagisa fought to form the words with his mouth and as the floodgates burst he sobbed shamelessly over the phone.

"Mom, I love Karma."

Irina's heart skipped a beat as her young assassin slipped back into her native tongue. No matter how many times Nagisa accidentally called her 'mom' the overwhelming feeling of joy and love she had for him was incomparable.

She'd replaced Nagisa's vision and expectations of a mother figure with someone who cared about him as an individual and not an oppressor wishing their son was a daughter.

While Korosensei and Karasuma added to his vision of a father figure, a model to look up to, they didn't have quite the same impact on him as Irina had. She would protect that vision and strive for Nagisa's happiness until her dying breath as she would for all of the students she'd come to love as her own.

"Sweetie don't tell me you killed him." While she was sure Nagisa would not pick up the shredded pieces of a contract long since banished from his mind, she needed to make sure.

They only ever talked like this in Russian. While all the students were taught a variety of languages, this particular one was something Nagisa had paid particular interest in as a means of talking to her in a more private setting. Their conversations were reserved only for their ears to hear.

Nagisa shook his head over the phone as if Irina could see the gesture.

"No, I don't know what to do. I love him so much but I'm an _assassin,_ I'm a yakuza student, I can’t just _abandon_ everyone and Korosensei for Karma's sake."

"Is Karma with you at the moment?" Irina asked calmly, pulling on her nightgown and loosely tying back her hair before slipping into warm fluffy slippers. The winter nights could be so harsh and it took a decent amount of willpower to stop herself from crawling back under the cover and snuggling for warmth, but her boy was distressed, and he took priority now.

"No... He locked himself in his room after I mentioned our contract ends tomorrow. I didn’t mean to upset him...” Nagisa trailed off and it physically hurt to hear him sounding so sad.

“Nagisa, I need you to be absolutely honest right now, okay?” Irina waited for the confirmation before continuing. "This is a matter you should talk to Korosensei about, if you truly love Karma I’m sure you can come to an agreement. I'll go wake him up just sit tight okay? It's going to be okay, Nagisa. He'll be there soon."

The beep marking the end of the call was deafening and Nagisa was once more plunged into the soul crushing silence of the house. He held tightly onto his phone and wrapped himself up as tight as possible. Hiding himself from the world and hoping that somehow the blankets would feel in some way like Karma’s warmth.

Tears continued to flow down his cheeks, wetting the blanket around him as he bit into the fabric in an attempt to silence his sobs. As exhausted as his body felt from the rush of emotions, he didn’t want to sleep in fear of what would be there or what wouldn’t be there in the morning.

The, breaking the silence of the house, something went 'clonk'.

Nagisa was instantly on the alert. His hand went to his phone and swiped to his security settings. The red pulsing blips of his security alarms don't show any change and as he cycles through the cameras the perimeter still appears secure. Sometimes a noise was just a noise but if he left it at that his teachers would have his head. It was almost a game they played back at the school. If an assassin let their guard down while they slept their classmates would see who could sneak up to them and draw on their face. Nagisa still had fond memories of the time they had managed to outfox Bitch-sensei and she had chased them down the corridor with a curly moustache and a monocle drawn on her. Karma would have loved to get a picture of that...

Behind the playfulness was the constant harsh reminder: an unaware assassin was a dead assassin.

Nagisa slipped out of bed and slipped the safety catch off his revolver.

The benefit of the house’s layout mean it was easy enough to scan everything from the hallway door through the large lounge, and into the kitchen. The downside to this however, meant there were few walls or hiding places for himself and a potential assailant.

It must have slipped his mind for a moment as he peered over the couch at the light from the fridge that he was in fact expecting a visitor.

With a sandwich wedged under his mask and hands raised up, none other than Korosensei stood with what would have been a startled look on his face and an almost frantic ‘don’t shoot!’ lost somewhere in the contents of the bread.

Lowering his weapon, Nagisa realized he was still shaking. His comfortable sleepwear was likely still under the pillow on his side of the bed upstairs. The result of which mean he was still in the same singlet and short shorts from earlier. He hadn’t needed anything warmer when he was snuggling in blankets with Karma on the couch.

“Korosensei.” The word slipped hesitantly from his mouth as the emotions returned as his instincts simmered. He must look like a mess. Hair tousled, eyes puffy and red. It was unbecoming of him to stand in front of his teacher as if he was once more a tiny assassin coming to terms with his emotions.

“Karma will get mad if you eat his spicy chicken breast, he’s been looking forward to that all week.”

Korosensei guiltily swallows his mouthful of lettuce, cheese and spiced chicken and puts the rest of his sandwich down on the plate. His disease had caused his tastebuds to atrophy, leading to a decline in the pleasure he felt from his famously gourmet meals, but even he could taste the tingle of intense spice on his tongue. He takes care to catch even the smallest of crumbs on the plate as befits his meticulous nature. The entire kitchen is near gleaming from top to bottom with the smell of lemon scented cleaning products in the air. There was nothing Korosensei hated more than a mess, a habit born of losing too many friends to contamination and disease in the slums of his childhood, and when he had felt peckish enough to make a sandwich he couldn't help but clean the entire kitchen as well.

"I haven't had chicken like this since Jaipur." Korosensei names the capital of the Indian state of Rajasthan. In his assassin's career he'd travelled enough to make a list of his favourite cuisine across the globe. "Imported?"

Nagisa nodded. “Karma spent his early childhood in India. He was well accustomed to the lifestyle and taste of local cuisine by the time the family moved at six everything else paled in comparison. He still complains a lot of food tastes too bland.” He chuckled affectionately remembering when the redhead had told him what was essentially his life story.

“Directly importing takes time but he said it reminds him of home and when his parents spent as much time with him as they spend away from him now.” His thoughts went back to their argument and even now it still left a bitter taste in his mouth.

“Korosensei… what’s going to happen to Karma once I go…?”

“I don’t believe that’s the question you really want to ask, Nagisa.”

Nagisa bit his lip, swallowing hard as his shaking returned. It was usually so easy to talk to Korosensei but now it felt like a near impossible task.

Irina had reassured him they could come to some sort of agreement and he believed her whole heartedly on that but. His nerves still plagued his mind. He felt guilt for even doubting either of them.

“I…” His voice grew quiet. “Korosensei I love Karma… I don’t want tomorrow to be the end…”

Korosensei put his sandwich down on the bench and drew closer to his precious student.

"Nagisa, it doesn't have to be the end." He tells him and puts a comforting hand on the assassin's shoulder. "That's one of the things I wanted to talk to you about...Before I got distracted." He looks wistfully in the direction of his sandwich. He'd been living off hospital food and whatever could be cooked from mountain ingredients for a while, jaipur spiced chicken breast had not been on the menu for a while.

“But sensei… if I stayed with Karma, I’d be giving up my life as an assassin wouldn’t I? The time you’ve spent looking after me… teaching me… it’d all go to waste if I stopped now… Bitchsensei gave me her legacy and I feel like I’m throwing it away after a decade… am I failing you or my mission by wanting to stay?” His knuckles were white and his lip swollen from biting.

In all his years of watching over the young assassin he’d never seen him so emotional, no doubt it was the proof their attempt to bring him back into society had succeeded. Now he just needed to reassure the unstable boy.

“Nagisa, you’re not failing us in any way. There was a reason I asked Irina’s approval before charging you with this mission. In the same way you were presented with two contracts, Irina was given two as well. She could let you continue her legacy as an assassin, or we could see if you could use the skills we have nurtured within you could open a path for you return to society.

“Did you know I look after an orphanage?”

Nagisa nodded. It wasn’t a guarded secret that Korosensei invested a significant amount into a local orphanage that housed children from near and far. He’d come to love teaching children and watching them grow. Of course the belief of many was that it was used as a place to foster fresh assassin’s but the truth of the matter was they had very little to do with the Yakuza lifestyle.

Very few of them ever showed promise in the field of assassination. Of course there was an equal chance of employment through the agency but many chose to return to society. Returning each Christmas or sending a postcard every once in a while letting their teacher know how they were fairing.

He too was an orphan, brought to the city and housed only momentarily in that very orphanage before he was taken in by Korosensei and all but adopted by Irina.

“If you cannot relate to the orphans leaving the nest to find their way in the world, then perhaps you could see this as a graduation. Irina has been making preparations since you began to display signs of adjusting to a normal lifestyle, you have nothing to fear if you wish to remain here.”

"I..." Nagisa's voice cracks and his hands tremble. "I don't know."

He looks at his teacher with desperate eyes.

"Tell me what I should do!" He begs.

"Nagisa." Korosensei gently scolds and cups his student's cheek. "You already know what you want to do otherwise you wouldn't be asking me that question."

Nagisa feels tears pricking at the corners of his eyes.

"Sensei..." He whispers. "I'm afraid."

The masked assassin pulls him into a tight embrace. Nagisa can feel his ribs beneath his coat as Korosensei strokes his hair and for a moment Nagisa is a scared little kid again. Nagisa closes his eyes tightly and clings to Korosensei's coat. The smell of that coat was the smell of home to him.

"There, there." Korosensei croons. "It's going to be o.k. I promise."

He rests two fingers under Nagisa's chin and tilts it upwards so Nagisa's eyes meet the eyes of his permanently smiling mask.

"I don't deserve this." Nagisa's voice still trembles. "There's too much blood on my hands, I can't...!" _I can't be normal_ are the words he thinks but can't say. _I don't deserve happiness_.

"Nagisa," Korosensei's tone makes his name a singsong scolding. "What you _have_ is love; you have my love and Irina's love and Karasuma's love and even Karma's love and that has nothing to do with what anyone thinks they _deserve_. That's not going to change Nagisa. No-one has the right to take that away from you Nagisa, not even me."

He lightly taps Nagisa on the tip of his nose.

"Chin up Nagisa. It will be dawn soon and we have much to do."

*  *  *

Nagisa didn't sleep that night. Directly following his conversation with Korosensei he had set to work finalising the paperwork of his term with Karma, breaking all ties to Gakuho's hit on Karma, and waking the redhead's father at the break of dawn to discuss a new contract that would see him in a semi permanent role as Karma's bodyguard and member of the Akabane family before promptly passing out in the chair just outside Karma's room.

The door was still locked and the envelope containing a fresh contract awaiting Karma's approval sat on the table as he slept through those anxious hours awaiting the other’s awakening.

It was a big day for them both. The mark of a year knowing each other, living with each other, learning and falling in love with each other.

Nagisa could feel it was finally time to return those three special words to the redhead he'd come to love.

He felt too, that it was better to confront Karma as his raw self. The self that shone most brightly on those peaceful days off when wearing baggy shirts, no heels, and comfortable pants. The times he's truly let his hair down or messily tied with cheap dollar shop ties and headbands as his body smelt faintly of whatever magical bath bomb he let himself indulge in.

It wasn’t an act. Just the raw, true Nagisa. The long haired murderer that fell for his client. It was this Nagisa he wanted to be when he finally spoke those three words.

It was just past 1pm when the bedroom door finally clicked open and when it did swing, Nagisa couldn’t tell if it was shock or excitement that froze the redhead in place.

“Nagisa?” He name fell like an unfamiliar word off his tongue, unbelieving that the smaller male was really there.

“I’m either hallucinating or you’re here to kill me.” His breathing grew uneven and Nagisa could see the other’s eyes beginning to glaze over. It made his heart sink. Karma was so convinced Nagisa was only here to complete a contract.

“Who ordered it? Rio? Gakushu?” His voice was getting steadily more broken as he tried to hold back the floodgates. He was biting his lip now, trying to stay composed as he met Nagisa’s gaze.

“No one did.” Nagisa tried to reason, but somehow that made the even more upset.

“H-have I offended you so much, you...”

At this point had the taller male been wearing a tie, Nagisa would have taken a hold of it and pulled his idiot redhead down to meet him. But seeing as Karma currently wore nothing more than his boxer shorts, he had to improvise.

Sandwiching the male's face between his hands, and pulling himself up on tip toe as he brought Karma's face down to his in a sort of do I need to spell it out for you notion.

“I want to date you, hold hands with you, wake up with you in the morning. I'm in love with you, you idiot, I _love_ you."

Karma blinked in confusion as the words slowly seeped in, then all at once it hit him like a ton of bricks as the overwhelming joy that filled his being poured over into tears of joy as he practically swept Nagisa off his feet with a startled squeak, back into his room, and fell backwards onto the bed in a mess of kisses and cuddles.

It was a little awkward at first but eventually Nagisa managed to wiggle his way into a more comfortable position on top of Karma, kissing back eagerly and almost desperately until they had to part for air.

"Say it again, Nagisa. Please." The redhead whispered so desperately.

"I've waited so long to hear you say it. I don't care if I'm about to wake up, or you're about to slip a knife between my ribs, just, _please_ tell me one more time."

"You're so embarrassing." Nagisa chided. Cupping the others face delicately in his hands as if a single stroke might shatter him.

"I have no intention to kill you, nor are we dreaming." He swallowed down the rising butterflies and smiled so purely up at him. "I love you, Karma."

It was only now when Karma tried to pull them into sitting position against the headboard that he noticed the envelope still in Nagisa’s hand.

“I’m guessing that isn’t my death contract.” He joked and Nagisa playfully flicked him in the forehead.

"It's less of a contract and more of a proposition." Nagisa explained pulling the sheet of paper from the envelope, a little nervously Karma noted.

"So? What does it say?" He inquired and Nagisa cleared his throat.

"As head of the Akabane family I hereby extend a formal invitation to one Nagisa Shiota inviting him into the Akabane family in partnership with one Karma Akabane, the nature of which to be decided by the persons in question, to continue protecting the upcoming leaders as he moves into his career of choice. Upon entering his chosen path should he not need a bodyguard, Mr. Shiota is free to pursue his own career path separate or alongside Mr. Akabane.

Effective immediately upon all designated signatures from all participating parties and families are collected.

And then it has your parents, my 'parents', Korosensei's, and my signature on the bottom of the page leaving only yours remaining if you wish for this to be our new contract."

"Partner huh, makes it sound like we're getting married." Karma laughed enticing a faint blush across Nagisa's cheeks.

"I think marriage is a bit too fast right now even for us." He spoke quietly not turning the idea down entirely. If Karma would have him, he intended to be with the redhead a very long time.

"So let me get this straight. You're actually asking me out? You Mr. I-don't-date-while-contracted is actually asking me to be his boyfriend? Now I know I'm dreaming."

"I-I am... so you should hurry up and give me your answer!" Nagisa said a little more forcefully than intended. Burying his face like some cliché embarrassed school girl confessing her first crush.

Under normal circumstances Karma would have loved to tease the hell out of Nagisa. The embarrassed, vulnerable Nagisa was his favourite and he adored the reactions. But this time he couldn't. He couldn't bring himself to even consider shattering the fragile film of Nagisa's most vulnerable state.

He'd gone out of his way to organize and collect these signatures that would see him _leave_ the Yakuza to be at his side. Even when Nagisa had opened up to him, he'd never seen him look _this_ vulnerable. As if even the most delicate of touches would erect those iron walls and shut him off from the world outside entirely.

This is what he wanted. The real Nagisa beneath the guise. The true one he wanted to win over. The one that would see Nagisa with him. By his side.

He couldn't tease that Nagisa.

"Of course I'll date you, Nagisa, and I'll sign that paperwork too. It'll be the most important document I will ever sign. Next to our marriage certificate." He couldn't help but joke at the end and Nagisa practically _squeaked_ as he buried his face against Karma's chest smiling like he'd never smiled before.

Karma was smiling too. The immense feeling of joy and undeniable happiness threatening to spill more tears from his eyes, wrapping his arms tightly around Nagisa's smaller frame and pulling them back down onto the sheets.

They were back to kissing. Slow, passionate smooches on the lips, cheek, and forehead. A little harsher with grazing teeth down the neck and collar as quiet gasps and moans began to fill the room. 

"Are you seriously this aroused already?" Nagisa laughed, shifting his ass against the noticeable bulge enticing a few sharper gasps from the male below him.

"It's because you're _here,_ Nagisa _,_ and as it turns out I can't simply 'get over you' in a night."

God Karma could be so adorable at times. A lot of the time... All of the time...

"Y’know,” He said leaning down to cradle Karma’s head and toy with his scruffy locks. “Your breath isn't as bad as I thought it would be, did you brush your teeth on the intention of skipping breakfast? Your hair is an utter mess."

"My apologies for having not gotten around to drowning my sorrows in the hot water. I wasn't expecting company." He admitted with the slight hint of humour to his tone. It baffled Nagisa how anxious Karma truly was over this very day.

It made his sudden departure the night before make a lot of sense. Despite how close they had become, there had always been the nagging feeling that he was simply playing Karma for a fool.  That it was all some sweet dream he’d have to wake up from. What a cruel fate to have such anxieties on the day of his birth.

He’d need to slowly coax the other male from those thoughts and reassure him he couldn’t pick up a contract to kill his partner. It was the last thing on his mind.

"Would you like me to come back later then?" He teased playfully.

"I have a better idea. It involves you, me, deliciously hot water littered with bubbles, and those lush scented shampoos you may or may not have to show me how to use one more time." Karma purred in return.

"I suppose that can be arranged, if you turn off your phone so no one can disturb us."

Karma remembered fondly the time he'd peeked over the smaller males shoulder at his collection of expensive bath salts, shampoos, soaps, and bath bombs, paying particular attention to a brand who's directions explicitly stated if you didn't know how to use the contents then to take someone you really trusted into the shower with you to demonstrate.

Nagisa had joked he'd read the back and was looking for a quick fuck but no, Karma had been legitimately curious what was so good about it so he decided to show him.

Show him in a way that lead to the most intoxicating bath sex as the assassin rode Karma’s cock while gently massaging cotton candy and pear scented shampoo into the other's hair and skin, and kissing him so sweetly while flicking an oral pleasures candy between their hot vanilla drooling mouths, the scent of aphrodisiac so thick in the air all but drugged the room leaving Karma completely at Nagisa's mercy.

It was some of the best sex Karma had ever had, he did wish they had time to indulge in it more.

"Terasaka and the gang have a Christmas party every year, I was thinking of actually going this year, would you care to join me?"

Nagisa looked up at the redhead, a small smile gracing his features as he teased.

“Depends, are you wanting me to dress up?”

“Now that you mention it...” Karma mused, the idea of Nagisa in a sexy Christmas outfit was quite appealing. Thigh high stockings tied with little bows. A red skirt held loose on his hips by a black belt and lined with white fluff. A sexy red-

“ _Karma_.” Nagisa pulled him from his little fantasy. “Get your kinky mind out of the gutter. It’s _winter_ and it’s _snowing_ outside. I’ll wear your choice of sweaters but no kinky outfits until we at least come back home.”

“So you’ll come with me then?”

“In more ways than one.” Nagisa hummed playfully pulling Karma back in to kiss.

*  *  *

Christmas as a time spent in the company of ridiculous Christmas lights, music, booze, and the gang dressed in the best of the worst Christmas sweaters imaginable.

A holiday tradition that dated back long before they were recruited by the Akabane family. Before dinner was served they’d take a vote on whoever had the greatest most obnoxiously festive Christmas sweater would be king of the night and entitled to the best booze and the overall master of what songs played on loop until the early hours of morning. If you didn’t like it, you would have to outdo everyone in the coming year.

It was a means to which the gang could unwind and enjoy the simpler things in life without the fear of attack. “They stopped the war for Christmas” as the phrase went. It was one of the few days of the year that all territories held a ceasefire to their activities to spend in the company of loved ones and reflect on the year thus far.

Betrayal of this almost unspoken rule from the highest powers to the lowest hoodlums on poverty stricken streets was a surefire way to fuck yourself over and condemn yourself and your gang through the New Year.

The rule was even more important now as the territories moved towards a more peaceful state. Gakuho had begun to pull back as the young leaders proved they were competent enough to run the city without need of a dictatorship.

This year had been a rough one to say the least.

Karma had not only been introduced to the first bodyguard that had been in his company longer than a month, but also fallen head over heels for.

It was no secret that that gang disliked Nagisa a great deal and for Terasaka, who had been loyal to the redhead for a great many years, he was very much opposed to the small assassin that had assumed so much power over his boss with relative ease.

Of course those feelings were different now. They all saw each other as equals despite the knowledge if it came to, they wouldn’t last a second against the Yakuza assassin.

He wouldn’t admit it out loud, unless thoroughly smashed, but the end of Nagisa’s contract made him more than a little uneasy. The two may as well have been married already with how in tune and how _in love_ the idiots were. He worried for Karma’s mental health. He’d never been with anyone more than a few weeks, so having Nagisa for a year, being _close_ for what he guessed was about 4 months, he may not be smart, but he was smart enough to know it would crush Karma to have him leave as if it were just another mission. He hoped for everyone’s sake the emotions were real. If they weren’t, then Nagisa was a fucking good actor and he’d be sure to at least put up a fight when reminding him of what he’s done.

“Your wrinkles will get worse if you keep thinking.” Itona brought him from his thoughts with a pointed poke to his brow.  His sharp icy blue eyes banished every stray thought in his mind and drew them back to only him. With his cute platinum blonde spikes, characteristic headband from old, trashy Christmas sweater and… was that mistletoe hanging from his head?

“Oi, Why are you wearing that?” The smaller male simply blinked up at him still stone-faced.

“It’s mistletoe.”

“I can see that.” He scoffed in response and poked the suspended plant.

“Terasaka, you’re supposed to kiss someone who is standing under mistletoe with you.” Terasaka forced down an embarrassed blush. He’d never get used to Itona’s bluntness. They weren’t even under the mistletoe together, Itona was still so much shorter than him, it barely reached his nose.

“Aren’t you going to kiss me?”

Yes was the obvious answer, he wanted to kiss Itona very much so, but the idea of kissing in such a public setting made him nervous. While he was sure everyone knew they’d been dating for a significant portion of the year it still made him uneasy.

Like an angel sent from the heaven, the moment was interrupted by the door swinging open and the latecomers passing through the door. Both came dressed in ridiculous Christmas sweaters, one arguably more atrociously festive than the other, but that wasn’t what caught his attention.

“Karma got what he wanted in the end.” The words fell from his lips like a foreign language.

“Nagisa didn’t leave.” Itona added with the most obvious statement the male could have made.

It took a while for everyone to comprehend the sight as something that wasn’t a mere hallucination from too much drinking.

The duo walked hand in hand in the most obvious of gesture of their relationship, greeting their companions before grabbing snacks and settling down on the couch. It was an almost embarrassing display the way Nagisa shamelessly slid into Karma’s lap.

“Look at those lovestruck nerds,” Despite his remark, he was crossing the room to congratulate the duo. In his own special way. Punching Karma in the arm and ruffling both of their hair. “About time you pipsqueaks figured this shit out between yourselves. Just keep that kinky bullshit to the bedroom. Nobody wants to see that tonight.”

“I’ll do what I want, Terasaka.” Karma teased, batting the hand away and poking his tongue out in his usual childish way. Some things would never change. As if to illustrate the point he put his glass down on the table and slipped a hand between Nagisa’s thighs to give him a generous squeeze. An action Nagisa was all too happy to recuperate, rocking back against the touch and resting his blushing face into the crook of Karma’s neck.

“Tch, get a room you two.”

“Get a room? But we just got here big guy.” Karma tormented with a superior chuckle the other as he turned to leave, withdrawing his hand much to Nagisa’s dismay.

“If they get as bad in the car I’m kicking them out.” Terasaka grumbled returning to Itona’s side.

“When they had sex against the backseat intercom and subjected you to a ride of torture? Especially when you slammed on the brakes because you were speeding-“

“STOP.” Terasaka pleaded, shoving his hand over Itona’s mouth to stop the already far too vivid recollection of that horrific day.

“Terasaka.” Itona mumbled against his hand before reaching up to tug it away, careful to hold onto it tight enough the other male could shy away. “You still haven’t kissed me. It’s a Christmas tradition.”

In honestly he was expecting Terasaka makes up some excuse not to, but instead he was pulled into a quick affectionate kiss. It was one of the rare moments Itona smiled, it made the other even more embarrassed than before.

“Take it off I don’t want anyone else kissing you tonight.” He muttered under breath.

“I’ll take it all off after the party.” Itona replied, pushing himself up on tip toes to sink his teeth into the other’s neck, just above the collar of that tacky Christmas tree sweater, and sucking hard until the spot bloomed a brilliant red.

Unlike Terasaka, the smaller male had no shame when it came to public display of affection, or letting the big oaf know he wanted something. Nagisa confirmed to him very early on he was thick as a brick. The only way to get romantic or sexual emotions through to him was to be blunt. Something that came as naturally as breathing to him.

Despite voicing his protests, Terasaka didn’t push him away. Waiting only a little impatiently for the other to be done with his gesture thankfully no one seemed to take much notice of. It was times like this he was grateful the gang knew their place and that if they _did_ say anything they’d likely receive a knuckle sandwich.

Still it didn’t stop the blush on his face as Itona dropped back down to his regular height with that same, almost innocent looking deadpan facial expression. It gave him a sense of pride knowing there was a time the other would break his usual composure, even if that was generally when they were alone and Itona was on top of him.

He was a follower not a leader and that translated to the bedroom as well. Itona would tell him what to do and in perhaps one of the only times of ‘weakness’ to his ‘manly’ persona, Terasaka was more than willing to do whatever the other said. Groaning, thrusting, the whole package.

The mere thought of what was to come after the crowd dispersed did little to ease the tightness in his pants. Perhaps because it was Christmas and the booze was pretty damn good, that the other was being so forward with his affection.

From the other side of the room Karma didn’t seem much better. While he couldn’t tell exactly _how_ much alcohol their boss had consumed, it was enough that he was thoroughly relaxed and acting like an affectionate kitten towards his partner. Nagisa on the other hand seemed perfectly sober.

It was nice to see their boss getting drunk and singing along badly to Christmas carols while chowing down on indoor barbequed food. He felt like one of them, someone they could relate and talk to, instead of someone leagues above them pulling the strings. For a lonely soul like Karma, Terasaka couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride at the way Karma had changed little by little over the year. In a way, everyone had changed.

“I swear to fucking god Karma if you throw up on the floor I’m gonna punch you into next year.” He called across the room as he caught Nagisa’s attempt to stop him from having another drink by downing it himself.

“Bring it on macho man!” The redhead slurred as he almost spilled Nagisa’s lemonade with his nuzzling, pulling the smaller male closer as he threw himself back against the couch, letting out a startled shriek as the recliner kicked back pulling the duo down in a human sandwich and effectively distracting him from picking a drunken duel with Terasaka.

“Best Birthmas gift ever.” Karma purred as Nagisa shifted on top of him trying to untangle their limbs all the while Karma’s hands continued their need to touch in his drunken haze. Slipping under the hem of his pants to fondle his ass as he leaned up, almost pathetically, asking for a kiss. He looked ridiculous but Nagisa couldn’t bring himself to refuse. He wanted to indulge in his boyfriend, drunk or sober, just _something_ to remind him he wasn’t about to wake from a pleasant dream to a reality of leaving him. As long as Karma would have him, he was here to stay.

“I wonder if we’ll ever be like that.” Terasaka mused aloud as Itona returned with a glass of eggnog.

“Drunken kissing or public display of foreplay? Because either of those can be arranged.” Did it get through to him this time? Itona pondered as the other all but choked on his can of beer. It wasn’t like he was being exactly subtle with his request. The sight of a drunken Karma being so touchy feely made him almost jealous he wasn’t getting to indulge in the same kind of attention with his boyfriend. Sure Terasaka asserted the most control over these Christmas bashes, but as the winner of the horribly festive sweater contest he wanted nothing more than some alone time with the other.

Out of everyone in the gang, his tolerance for alcohol was probably worse than even Nagisa’s. Halfway through his glass of eggnog he was already feeling the pleasant buzz that loosened his tongue in much the same was as it loosened his expressions. Soon enough his face felt a little flushed and he could _hear_ the thoughts in his head beginning to slur.

“Terasaka,” He cooed in an almost playful manner that would have grabbed Terasaka’s attention immediately had it not been for the fact the smaller male literally _shoved_ his hands down his pants to kneed his boner, pressing against him in a way that would have shielded the action from curious eyes. “I want to have interclu… interchores… _fuck…_ I want to have _sex_ with you.”

Terasaka’s ears were _burning_ with embarrassment as such a blunt request. As tempting as it was to leave and bang, he was more concerned the other wasn’t thinking straight. How much alcohol was in that eggnog to get him so tipsy already? Soon enough his hands were travelling. Groping and touching, trying to excite the male to fulfill his request, but Terasaka was having none of that.

Promptly removing the other from his pants and slinging Itona over his shoulder almost fireman style, he passed a quick command over to Taisei to ensure everyone got home safely or had a place to sleep.

Sparing a quick glance at Karma who’d already passed out with Nagisa in his arms, he had to admit it was nice seeing such a peaceful look on the redhead’s face. He’d still be sure to give him grief in the morning. Start a rumour or two perhaps. Karma didn’t remember much when he drank enough to receive a wicked hangover in the morning. Perhaps he could convince him he fucked Nagisa on the table in front of everyone. There was little chance he’d buy it but it was worth a shot, it’d bring him a little bit of amusement either way.

The party had been winding down so there was little guilt in leaving to carry Itona upstairs to the smaller male’s room.

Despite the way he was being carried, it did little to stop him from trying to cop a feel for Terasaka’s ass, enough so the taller male resorted to bridal carrying him and putting up with the extra hickeys lining his neck before dropping him onto the almost steampunk themed bed sheets. His boyfriend was such a mechanical nerd.

As he tried to undress the other enough to get him into some form of decent pajamas, the _smiling, giggling,_ dunk Itona wasn’t having any of that, wrapping his arms around his neck and legs around that muscular torso as he tried to pull the other close.

Eventually Terasaka succumbed to his drunken antics and kissed him back. Gently at first, then a little more forceful as the other continued to giggle at the ticklish feeling. There were very few times Itona had alcohol which meant these instances were far and few. But while he looked cute all blushy and giggly, he was still as blunt as ever, still in control. He had to admit he was curious how their night would play out.

“Clothes off.” The smaller boy ordered and Terasaka was quick to obey. Removing himself from the bed to lock the door and strip his clothes.

“You sure about this? I don’t want to take advantage of you.” He reasoned and Itona _growled._

“You were looking at everyone. Not me. I want you to pay atten… att… _fuck, words!_ ” He whined in frustration at his own inability to speak while tipsy. It was pretty much the only time his more colourful vocabulary came through. That, and during sex. “I want you to look at _me_.”

“You’re real needy sometimes you know that.” His voice was rough but it held an edge of affection as it always did whenever it involved Itona. It was one of the many things he adored about the other male.

“I am looking at you.” He continued as Itona’s arms resumed their position around his neck pulling them back into passionate kisses. “You’re all I can see. Just tell me what you want me to do and I’ll do it.”

Itona smiled warmly at that. This time he wanted Terasaka to take some lead and do him to his heart’s content. It was Christmas after all. He’d give everything to him today and be the best gift he could have asked for.

“I want you to fuck me so I can’t stand in the morning.”

“I’ll do my best.” He replied with a determined face causing Itona to hug him closer still.

“I know you will.”


	14. December - The Contract Ends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thankyou to everyone for sticking with us this long. There is one more chapter after this. I do apologise (again otz) for posting late but I swear these last two chapters will be worth it ;;;  
> 

There was no denying this contract had changed him, _Karma_ had changed him. For better or worse was still up for debate but the feeling of undeniable fondness for the red head swelled more and more each day. Even the days they fought. Often about something trivial and normally resolved the same day.

Nagisa would never admit aloud how many times he'd slipped this silver ring onto Karma's fourth finger. Initially it had been to ensure the right fit, thankfully the redhead was a relatively deep sleeper, but soon enough it had become an almost guilty pleasure to admire the silver band decorating the finger that would officially declare their union.

While they'd only known each other two years and been dating for one, Nagisa felt that if he were to marry anyone, it would have to be Karma.

The ex-assassin felt most at peace with the other and if two years of putting up with their roller-coaster of a time together was anything to go by he was sure Karma felt the same.

Still he couldn't shake the paranoia and nervousness that bubbled in his chest whenever the prospect of popping the question presented itself. For all his skill and prowess in his field he was still a mere child when it came to expressing his true emotions.

He hadn't even told Bitchsensei about his, going as far as to buy the rings with his own physical money so there would be no digital trace of the purchase for Karma to review at the end of the month. While it was beneficial in terms of subtly hinting future sexual escapades, trying to keep something a legitimate surprise meant he'd have to put money aside each pay so the other wouldn't get suspicious.

It wasn’t difficult to determine that Karma had been thinking about perhaps proposing some day, and it was by chance he had gone wandered into the same jeweller Karma had done so many times before to stare at two particular ring designs. It was as if he didn’t know which one to get or whether he should even make the purchase. This train of thought had been confirmed by the regular sales associate mentioning the tall redhead would stare and whenever prompted would simply reply with ‘I don’t know if it’s time yet.’

This was something he wanted to do for himself, a selfish act of what he truly wanted. Surprise his practically adoptive mother of the engagement or pawn the ring off and pretend the proposal never happened on the chance Karma said no or believed it to be too early to consider marriage.

It was this doubt that made him nervous enough to slip the ring back off the slide into the concealed pocket he'd sewn into his pajama shorts and work pants.

Even so Nagisa couldn't help but let his mind wander as he stared like an obsessive magpie. He'd long since planned to take Karma’s last name, it would be the final chain to break from his ties to his past, he felt in doing so he'd find peace of mind in the trauma of his childhood, the teaching and growth under his mentors, and finally finding his own way with Karma at his side.

He'd finally cut his hair too. Having taken up a full time job as Karma’s bodyguard there was no need to disguise and while he knew Karma did adore playing with it, he could still enjoy it if it was shorter. Perhaps he could surprise his groom with the new cut.

Nagisa shook his head and buried his face into Karma’s shoulder. He hadn't even asked yet and he was already planning the wedding.

For much the same reason that Nagisa had been the one to make their dating official the smaller male knew he too would need to propose marriage. It wasn't as it Karma wasn't capable of asking but more out of respect and reassurance he was not manipulating Nagisa into staying.

Which all things considered was rather ironic.

The weight of sleep still hung heavy on Nagisa’s eyes and soon enough he found himself starting to be lulled back to the comfort of sleep. The time between blinks growing ever longer as he entwined his lithe, slightly crooked fingers with Karma's to admire the engagement ring just a moment longer. Dozing off under the thought of how desperately he wanted to find the courage to ask him to wear it permanently.

Before he knew it, he'd fallen asleep snuggled against Karma's chest.

Karma was the first to wake as a crack in the curtains bled the near blinding rays of the morning sun into their room. The desire to pull the sheets up over his face outweighed the instinctive thought that doing so would probably cover the smaller male entirely. So instead he wiggled the hand tangled in Nagisa's free to block out the offending sun with the back of his hand. It wasn't until he felt the sensation of something metal on his finger that he bothered to open a weary eye in curiosity.

It was silver and for a moment the red head had to wonder if it was some kind of new exotic sex toy Nagisa slipped on some time during the night, no matter how much research Karma did he could never match some of the things Nagisa would suggest trying and on the occasion he’d call bullshit the other would quickly provide the necessary sources to prove him wrong, it was both terrifying and exciting. Soon his vision focused enough to process it was a simple silver ring. It didn’t look cheap. In fact it almost looked like a wedding ring. It was on the right finger and everything.

Karma chuckled and rolled carefully to face the other better, admiring that peaceful sleeping face that had since ceased to be plagued by the twisted pain of nightmares.

Karma contemplated letting the other snooze a little more, but he was curious, and already wide awake thanks to the sun now warming the back of his hair.

"Nagisa~" He cooed, reaching up to toy gently with the ends of his hair as the other stirred.

Big blue eyes blinked awake and looked up sleepily at the other's smirking face. He wasn’t sure he could process the other’s teasing this early in the morning, and Karma would abuse this fact whenever he could, seldom was he awake before the other.

Slipping his free hand around Nagisa's waist to prevent his escape and pull him flush he raised the ringed finger waiting for the other's eyes to adjust to the morning light before speaking in his usual teasing tone.

"So what's this? Some sort of wedding proposal?"

It took a moment for Nagisa to process Karma's words and why there was a hand in front of his face, and when the realization finally sunk in, his eyes widened in terror. He'd forgotten to take the ring off.

Before he could react, Karma was spinning the ring around his finger and slipping it off to examine it. Admiring the polished band and the way the light bounced off the surface lighting up a random patch on the opposite side of the room when he caught a glimpse of the engraving inside.

In that moment, as the red head processed those three words, Nagisa knew the proposal would have to be now.

_Today. Tomorrow. Always._

Karma reread those words perhaps a dozen or so times trying to determine whether his eyes were playing a trick but seeing the way Nagisa’s face blushed a crimson red, the redhead was soon sporting a matching blush.

“If it was,” Nagisa began. Voice barely more than a whisper yet almost lost under the rapid beat of his anxious heart. “What would you say?”

Karma balanced the band around his finger and let gravity pull it down as he promptly rolled himself on top of the startled male and kissing him deeply. Pulling back to admire the even more intense blush as he gently pinned Nagisa’s wrists against the bed to stifle his attempts to hide.

“I’d say when’s our wedding?”

*  *  *

“I hear you’ve reclaimed most of your territories. How are the new recruits?” Karma quested swirling the remaining liquid of his glass. It was unusual for Karma to be anywhere alone but this time he’d asked to meet with the blonde male alone in this bar.

“Getting used to having tattoos on their arm. After being tied to Ryuki’s gang for so long they’re understandably finding it different from the life they’ve lead until now. I admit I was not expecting so many of them to transfer.”

“I’m still not over the fact you’re sharing territory with Ryuki. I thought he was going to remain neutral until we decided to kill each other over a disagreement, not try to overthrow your father.”

Gakushu gave the redhead a rather unimpressed glance as he chugged his drink.

“There’s no try about it, I will overthrow him and reclaim the North for myself. We’ll have plenty of time for banter when I get back.” Gakushu added staring at the bottom of the glass as if it would hold all the answers to his thoughts.

Karma had not only gained his markings for the Akabane family but the wings of his parents’ Yakuza heritage, on top of that, a shrouded fox chasing the moon designed by Korosensei himself before passing into the next world. If he was being honest, no matter how much time had passed since discovering his... friend, had such deep rooted ties to the Yakuza he couldn’t suppress the crushing feeling that he could no longer even consider himself to be equal. He supposed it made sense, but even with the progression of their relationship even if it was never voiced, the truth was since discovering himself following his father’s banishment, deep down he felt inferior.

“That’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.” Karma continued slowly pouring himself another half glass of gin. The atmosphere felt thick as if the redhead was about to announce someone had died.

“It’s kinda hard to say but.” It wasn’t like Gakushu hadn’t already noticed the way the redhead was toying with the ring around his finger. While Karma hadn’t screamed it to social media forums word was still bound to get around.

Two years had passed and even now Gakushu still felt the underlying twinge of sadness plucked at his heart knowing Nagisa would never be his, that he wouldn’t be able to experience that sort of warmth that radiated from Karma whenever the smaller male was close. He was sad, and he was jealous. But he knew he had to make his own way and wait for the day someone would come along that would make him smile as much as Nagisa made Karma smile.

Gakushu was snapped from his thoughts when Karma finally found his courage to speak, turning to face the blonde male with a look of mixed determination and anxiety.

“Would you do me the honour of being best man for my wedding?”

Gakushu blinked in shock. Not from the question but from whose mouth the words fell.

“Yes, but, didn’t he tell you? Nagisa already asked me.” He replied raising an eyebrow curiously. Was Karma pulling his leg or had Nagisa not actually told him he’d already given his answer when the blue haired male broke the news to him.

He felt a weird swell of joy as Karma’s face reddened presumably with embarrassment as he cursed under breath he got nervous for no reason. Karma had lowered himself to his level, no... even after everything, still saw him as equal enough to be offered such a position at their union.

“You’ve changed.” Gakushu smiled fondly as Karma regained his composure enough to pour and down another glass.

“We all have.”

*  *  *

The time between the engagement and big day went by in a blur of preparation, bookings, and invitations. It was one of those weddings only a select few were invited to and the price of admission would have cost an arm and a leg had Korosensei not explicitly stated Karma should spend his share of the bounty or ‘insurance’ from his death on a fancy wedding.

Even if it had only been for a shorter time, Karma had still by extension become one of his pupils and the fox on his left breast proved his connection. The money had been split evenly between all of his students, unsurprisingly many donated to charity and put the rest aside for living expenses. Nagisa’s money too had been donated and a certain golden boy with a newly buzzed undercut received a generous anonymous sum of money to aid his attempts to return to the North.

Nagisa now stood nervously in front of Gakushu, a fitted white suit adorned by a small red rose in his pocket as the blonde haired male fixed up his bowtie. The day was finally here and despite the fact Karma had literally not taken that ring off since Nagisa proposed in his roundabout way, there was the return of paranoia Karma would want to back out.

He blamed it on Karma’s fears of him leaving during their initial contract rubbing off on him, Bitch sensei simply reassured him fondly it meant he was hopelessly in love.

Gakushu finished tying the bow before quietly staring at the neat ribbon of fabric, the reality hitting like a second wave. Nagisa was about to get married to Karma. It seemed almost surreal.

Nagisa could sense the other’s inner turmoil and shared the feeling of guilt that maybe asking Gakushu was not the best idea, but he wanted him here, both of them did.

He raised his hands to gently hold Gakushu’s in his own, drawing the taller male’s gaze up as he smiled genuinely, voice as warm as a summer’s day.

“Thank you for being here Gakushu.”

"You chose him over me, you better make this work or I'll never forgive you." Gakushu tried to say strongly yet the quivering in his voice and the small collection of tears at the corners of his eyes gave away his inner turmoil. He wanted to wipe away the tears but at the same time he wanted to hold onto the warmth of Nagisa’s hands a moment longer before he let him go.

Nagisa could feel the shaking of the others hands as he tried to keep himself composed. While his comment had the front of something rude, Nagisa knew he meant it with all respect.

"If you cry I'm going to start crying too you idiot."

"Don't do that. Then you have to reapply your makeup and fix your hair all over." Gakushu mused as he gently ruffled the short blue locks. It was different seeing Nagisa’s hair so short and without those characteristic pigtails but somehow it made him look older, more mature, like he was ready to leave whatever baggage his past had burdened him with and finally move forward with his new life.

"Do you think he'll like it?" Nagisa asked nervously. Gakushu and Bitch sensei were the only ones who knew about the smaller males plan to cut his hair and after having it shoulder blade length for so long his apprehension was understandable. This was him finally hanging up his towel as a sex based assassin.

Gakushu smiled sinfully as he replied in that characteristically confident tone of his.

"If he doesn't then you may have yourself a wedding crasher here to steal a man."

Nagisa couldn't help the bellied laugh that erupted as he imagined the scene playing out in an almost comedic display, pushing him playfully in the chest before brushing out the creases in his shirt.

"You know I know a lot of people I could give you the numbers of potential hook-ups." He offered in part as a joke only for Gakushu to wave his hand dismissively replying, "I'm sure I can manage myself." before the room was plunged into a knowing silence.

It was almost time.

Gakushu gulped as his emotions again bubbled to the surface, reaching for Nagisa’s hand and entwining their fingers. Staring at the small of his back until the other curiously turned around.  
There was something he had to say. The feelings would never be returned but he felt in doing so maybe he could work towards his closure.

"I love you, Nagisa." Gakushu confessed quietly as the other lifted his chin with his free hand and placed a gentle kiss on the blonde's forehead.

"I know."

*  *  *

The ceremony itself was held in the traditional western fashion in an old well loved church in neutral territory that had seen the union of civilians, gangs, and yakuza alike over its proud history. Like many neutral zones it was a place where your past didn't matter and your sexual preference wasn't judged so long as you didn't fuck in the Holy church.

The main hall wall divided in two by a long aisle stretch from reception to the alter and both sides of the building were packed by friends and family on the left, even karmas parents had made the journey back to celebrate his big day and self proclaimed 'coming of age', and the yakuza students and sensei’s of Nagisa's family on the right. Even Korosensei was in attendance. The urn of ashes seated on the chair closest to the uniting couple and his symbolic dark tie with a crescent moon hung carefully on the corner of the seat.

It brought small tears to corners of Nagisa's eyes as he'd been lead down the aisle by Bitch sensei as much as the emotion of the day finally arriving threatened to overwhelm him.

Perhaps it was for nostalgia but Nagisa noted his sensei’s dress of choice was the same style and colour of the one he so vividly remembered her wearing when she first 'adopted' him. Perhaps it was a way to feel like she really was taking on that motherly role as she walked him to his husband to be.

Much like Bitch sensei and Gakushu, Karma couldn't help but admire and stare at how short Nagisa's hair had become. The fringe and bangs had remained the same but not there was no trace of that long flowing hair nor the high tied pigtails he'd come to know. While there was the slight pang of disappointment he would not longer be able to play with the long locks, it was still more than enough to slide his fingers into and pull him close. In all honesty the style really suited him and it truly felt that that physical change was the confirmation both males sought to prove that this was really happening that they were making plans to move forward in the world together.

"That suit would look even better on my floor." The red head cooed and Irina had to bite her tongue to stop the chuckled that dared to fall as Nagisa scrunched his nose cutely and pouted.

"At least wait until _after_ we get married." He scolded playfully.

"So long as it's not in the church." Bitch sensei reminded them with a wink before leaving the two at the altar to take up her seat next to Korosensei and Karasuma.

As the vows were read and rings presented, Mr and Mrs Akabane who even now were attending under false names, watched on in admiration of how much their son had grown. No longer would they need to shelter him from a world that would try to steal his life, no longer would they fear his recklessness see him overthrown. He still had some work to go, but he'd grown into a fine young man and it was all thanks to Korosensei. In the end he truly was the best teacher.

The ceremony ended and soon enough the reception began, Karma taking Nagisa's hand in a near slow dance that represented their relationship, shocking most that the redhead hadn't just dragged him into another upbeat tango.

"It really does suit you." Karma hummed eying up the short ruffled hair. Their dance was slow and the crowd watched on, but to Karma in that moment the world consisted of only the two of them.

"You almost look like the boss with yours slicked back like that." Nagisa teased back.

"Isn't this the part where we go home and have mind blowing wedding sex?" The red head retorted to which Nagisa could only laugh.

"There's a few more dances before that, Karma. Not to mention cake."

"Cake can come to the bedroom."

"I thought you wanted mind blowing not food play."

"I'm sure you know some ridiculous combination of sex and food, but you got me there."

"You'd end just enjoying the cake more than me though." Nagisa pouted cutely, prompting a raised eyebrow.

"The cake is that good huh?"

"Clearly you've never had Kayano's baking before."

Karma grinned as the song slowly came to an end and the duo parted to dance with their mothers.

 

Dancing with his mother felt much like he'd been thrown back in time. To the much simpler times when his parents were still at home relatively often to care for him in his early years. Karma often wondered if he'd one day forget what his mother or his father looked like. Their time away seemed to grow more and more and in the haziness of his memory he'd begun to notice the detail of their faces, their words, slowly began to fade. He was almost afraid to look his mother in the eye. What if he looked up and one day that face might be a stranger? Karma decided that yes maybe copious amounts of wedding photos of everyone might not be so bad after all.

"We're so proud of you, Karma." The words, the voice, it felt foreign to his ears but at the same time so familiar. She would pick up slight accents whenever they travelled. They must have been to France.

"You'll be a fine heir to this family, may your markings and your families serve you well, and may you and Nagisa share the best in life together." She was smiling, and Karma couldn’t help but smile too.

"Thankyou, Mother."

 

At the same time Nagisa was similarly swept back in time, reminded of the times when Irina first took him in and taught him how to dance. He could tell by the way they moved she too was thinking the same.

Dancing together with careful steps Nagisa had long since memorized their dance. No longer stepping on her toes or tripping over his own feet. It was  only a little depressing knowing that even though several years had passed, Nagisa had grown perhaps a mere centimetre in height.

“I suppose this is payback.” She said prompting a raised eyebrow and Nagisa’s gaze carefully observed hers looking for any subtle indicator to the mystery of her words.

“You little shits hooked me up with my man, only fair I help hook you up with yours.” Irina continued in that affectionate tone that felt like it should be accompanied by a pinch of your cheeks. Nagisa couldn’t help but chuckle warmly at that.

“Are you admitting you tried to get us together?”

“There was no trying about it,” She defended. “The two of you were drawn together. We simply assured you, you didn’t need to be tied down. We wanted you to find yourself, it was just a bonus you found love too.”

“Now you’re just being embarrassing.” Nagisa protested, face quickly turned a deep shade of red.

“Isn’t that what a mother is supposed to do?” Irina smiled warmly as if looking down at her own flesh and blood while Nagisa simply felt honoured to have a mother that wasn’t trying to kill him.

 

The song ended and again everyone swapped partners. With the family obligations complete, their mothers danced with their respective husbands as the newlyweds shifted to dance with each other the bridesmaids and groomsmen.

Karma soon found himself dancing with a woman with long black hair with striking resemblance to a famous movie star. The dress she wore had been altered at the edges, twice by the looks, allowing room for her swollen belly harbouring a child.

The redhead found himself almost lost in thought as they danced, wondering if at some point in the far future when they’d found themselves more and settled down that Nagisa may want to adopt.

“I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure of meeting, my name is Akari or Kaede to most. I used to work alongside Nagisa while with the yakuza. He speaks very fondly of you.” She spoke with a vague hint of sadness in her voice, Karma couldn’t help but wonder if she too had once harboured feelings for Nagisa like so many others.

As if reading his thoughts she confirmed in an instant.

“I had to give up on Nagisa and my role within the yakuza because I knew I could never have him. But it did give me a chance to get into acting and find someone who’d love me back.” Akari continued tenderly caressing her belly as they danced as a slow and casual pace.

“Nagisa was always closed off even with other students. Our missions together may have been few and far between but even when we had to pretend we were a couple, he was still putting up that façade. Besides Irina, he never let anyone even glimpse his heart. I suppose I was asking too much of him to let me in, I didn’t want him to pretend to love. So when he found you, talked about you, I was still a little jealous but in the end, I’m really glad he found someone to love back so genuinely.” Her smile was one that could light up the room she was so happy she didn’t bother to wipe the tears the trickled down her cheeks.

“Thank you for loving the _real_ Nagisa.”

 

Not too far away Gakushu couldn’t help but wonder if this was a blessing or a curse that he was presented with the chance to dance with Nagisa. Gakushu danced in silence, his mind racing with almost the same intensity as his heart. Nagisa’s hand in his and a hand on his waist. Silently he wondered if he would ever get another chance like this to be with the other and the thought alone made his heart sink. The song would play for about 3 minutes and here he was not making the most of this one last time.

“I’m sorry you’re not enjoying yourself, Gakushu.” Nagisa’s words broke his thoughts and he felt a twinge of guilt when knowing the face he must have been pulling was enough to worry the other. Gakushu felt himself unintentionally tighten his grip.

"I know you don't want to hear this, but I don't think you ever fell in love with _me_. You fell in love with the idea of being loved by someone who would see _you_. You're no longer held on a leash by your father, you're free to find your own way."

"I know.” Gakushu admitted quietly. He didn’t need to think much about the steps as they danced slowly to the same song that played at the charity event the felt like a lifetime ago. “And I know I’m selfish for knowing this and still yearning for you."

Nagisa cupped the other’s face, drawing his downcast gaze and smiled comfortingly.

"It may not be me, but one day you will find that love. Sometimes it’s good not to get what you want.” Sliding his hands up to playfully ruffle his hair causing Gakushu’s heart ached even more.

As the celebration began to wind down, Karma pondered the benefits of gate crashing Terasaka’s little dance in the corner. The big oaf had finally ceased shovelling food down his throat no doubt at the irritation of Itona who’d wanted to dance most of the night. But he didn’t make it halfway across the floor before Sugino Timohito called his name.

Sugino was a close friend of Nagisa’s with a love for baseball according to Nagisa’s description. Apparently Sugino had expressed wariness over the couple’s interactions fearing for his friend’s safety being contracted to ‘such a reckless guy’. Admittedly he had been right when Nagisa had gotten slashed trying to protect his sorry ass, and it was something he felt he might never not feel guilty about. But he had gotten better, and Sugino’s interactions with the red headed male appeared to be one of mutual respect.

“Nagisa wants to see you, he’s out on the balcony.”

Karma spared a quick glance towards Terasaka and decided the idiot deserved a break, promptly leaving him to his quiet dance with the smaller male as he followed Sugino towards the doors.

Sure enough Nagisa was leaning against the banister looking a little worse for wear. He thanked his friend for dragging his husband outside and promptly stood up to lean against his chest.

“You look exhausted.” Karma chuckled, bringing his hands up to support and run his fingers through the other’s short hair. He still hadn’t gotten used to it, his fingers moving on muscle memory through invisible long strands before returning to gently ruffle his hair.

“So do you.” Nagisa retorted as he wrapped his arms around Karma’s waist and stared up at him with big blue eyes.

Social events were still neither of their strong points and coupled with the anticipation of their special day, it certainly took its toll. Both males were ready to go home.

“Terasaka’s still dancing. I would almost feel bad for breaking up his little moment.”

“Irina would often drive me home if I was too tired and come back if she wanted to party a little longer, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.” Nagisa explained, fishing out his phone to flip his sensei a message before sighing back against Karma’s embrace.

A faint smirk went unnoticed on his lips as he teased just low enough for Karma to hear.

“If we leave soon, we might have enough energy for that ‘mind blowing wedding sex’ you mentioned earlier.”

“And they say _I’m_ the needy one.” Karma chuckled, placing a delicate kiss to Nagisa’s forehead as the sound of approaching footsteps signified their ride.

“I can’t say no to that.”


	15. Closure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter!!! I'm deeply sorry that the giveaway could not happen but please enjoy this very much self-indulgent final chapter set a few years after the events of the story. Find out what became of the gay boys! And again, thankyou to everyone who has been along for the ride, your support means the world and I hope you find this final installment satisfying!

Since his unrequited confession several years prior, Gakushu had found himself still haunted at the back of his mind by the unobtainable, but not enough to prevent him from slowly finding his way on shaky newborn legs into a slightly more social environment allowing him to seek out love of his own.

Over the course of six years Gakushu had found love several times over including within his own ranks, but the fates had deemed the spark to slowly wither away thus the longest relationship he'd maintained was with Ren Sakakibara lasting little over a year.

Naturally Gakushu wondered if he would find any fulfilment in love as he neared the home stretch of reclaiming the north.

Having exposed his father in a roundabout way, Gakuho had received jail time long enough for the intelligent blonde to dig his fingers into the system and land himself a position within the ministry of justice to begin weeding out the corruption within the police.

Upon release Gakuho maintained hold of what was dubbed the last frontier as he instead put the younger years of his life to use in taking up residency in a local school teaching poor children maths.

Seeing themselves as more of equals, Gakuho retracted his bindings of contract to Gakushu allowing him to keep the his territory of himself ending the partnership with Ryuki’s clan to the west which, without Gakushu’s influence, quickly seeped back to its old ways of small gang violence and heavy numbers of support.

  
On civil terms Gakuho was finally acting the father to his son and in doing so accepting at last that the late Korosensei had been right. Times had changed and these children brought the future.

Karma on the other hand had worked his way to finishing his post grad and internship seeing him land a position within politics themselves. While he was still a ways off his end goal it was a position that gave him a say in how things ran and enough time to tend to his gang and the yakuza without fear of neglecting time with his husband.

*  *  *

 “Are you going out?” Ren inquired as Gakushu paced back and forth in his usual manner when he knew he'd be too early if he left now.

The duo had known each other since they were 6 years old and despite this it was a habit that he only really picked up on when they spent considerably more time together.

From the decline in his mentality as his father's paranoia grew, to the way he finally found the courage to fight back and begin the chain reaction of his father's fall and return to sanity. Every love and every heartbreak. Ren had witnessed them all and for a time been part of it too. But even if in the end they came to the mutual agreement they were better as friends than lovers, Ren would never leave his friend's side. Even if he could never find lasting love of his own, he and the rest of Gakushu’s higher chain of command would never leave him and love him fully and unconditionally.

“Was I pacing again?” Gakushu said apologetically as he stopped midstep. “Is it bothering you?”

“Only if it bothers you that I am staring.” Ren hummed, slipping into a pose that made blatantly obvious where his attention was.

“Should I start swinging my hips for you?” Gakushu replied in a joking manner, swinging his hips provocatively before immediately feeling embarrassed. He may have mellowed out but the teachings of his father still held him strong.

“If you do I won’t apologise for jumping you.”

“And here I thought we were friends.”

“With benefits.” Ren chuckled with a hint of mock offense while running his hand through the black tuff of his hair. He’d tried to grow it out once, around the same time Gakushu agreed to change to an undercut, but soon found himself unable to deal with so much hair, returning back to his more traditional kariage hairstyle. Gakushu on the other hand had become incredibly fond of the undercut and had maintained it since the original clip.

“Don't be so worried. If she isn't proud of you then to hell with what she thinks. We are proud of you. And we aren't going to leave you.” Ren reassured him leaning back in his desk chair to check the time.

“But she's my mother.”

“And we're your family.” Ren replied bluntly, leaning back forward to tap his watch to let the other know it was time to go. “Though I strongly believe it will be fine, after all she isn't your dad.”

“I suppose that’s true, but dad is getting better.”

*  *  *

"Would you ever consider a threesome?" Karma asked seemingly out of the blue at one of their monthly meets down at the bar. Once a month on a Friday, Nagisa would make the journey back to his old residence in the yakuza to catch up with his senseis leaving Karma bored out of his mind after work. Eventually asking Gakushu to come join him for some food and a casual drink down at the pub and before long it became a regular thing.

"Are you offering?" Gakushu replied as if it wasn't the most bizzare thing Karma had ever asked him. Everyone had mellowed in age, except perhaps Rio who was still just as lively as ever.

“If I was?”

“I’d say you’re a married man.”

“And I’d retort you do know who I’m married too right?” Karma chuckled taking another small sip before shovelling some more hot chips into his mouth. “We were thinking of trying something new in the bedroom, but it requires a third person.”

“Rio turned the offer down?”

“You know Nagisa likes guys, and you’re the first one we’re asking.”

“I’m at the top of the list, huh.” Gakushu hummed, swirling the cocktail in his glass without ever taking a sip. He tried to remain disinterested in the conversation but sure enough, like mentos in a bottle of cola, lingering emotions bubbled to the surface.

“Don’t feel obliged to answer now, but if you’re interested then you’re welcome to swing by two Saturdays or Sundays from now. Monday is a public holiday so we won’t be working and Nagisa is visiting his folks on the usual Friday so our weekend is free.”

“Out of all the things we discuss over drinks and chips this has to be the most unusual.”

“Aren’t neutral zones wonderful?” Karma laughed the remark off, pushing Gakushu playfully in the shoulder.  “Don’t get too hung up over it, if you want to come over for just a chat that’s fine too. We know you’ve been busy and reclaiming the north is within reach.”

“I think rather than take the territory from him, I’ll wait for him to give it up to me. It would symbolise that he thinks I’m worthy of holding my own and that we are competent enough to lead the future don’t you think?”

Karma watched Gakushu turn to face him, the look of determination to see his father step down burning in those deep brown eyes. He couldn’t help but smile. Gakushu had become so much more now he wasn’t fighting to be his father, but also be himself. Finding that balance that let him take the teachings from his father and use them to improve himself as an individual and for that Karma couldn’t help but respect him.

“I’d pay to see you kick your father kicked off his high horse.” He admitted clinking their glasses before downing the rest.

It was nice being able to talk to Gakushu like this.

*  *  *

"They invited you over for a potential threesome." The words felt foreign on his tongue as the clearly sober Gakushu sat on his desk, watching the other's thoughts run wild.

"You sure Karma didn't spike your drink? He legitimately asked you if you wanted to have sex with him."

"Yes."

"And Nagisa."

 "...yes." Gakushu admitted feeling a little guilty for bringing this up with Ren.

It wasn't like the other male knew that deep down his boss still had lingering attachments. But he was like that with crushes he genuinely cared about. Which was more or less the reason why Ren could get away with the occasional booty grab, kiss, and suggestive remark to hit the sheets.

Gakushu even admitted a bit embarrassed he still enjoyed the attention Ren gave him even if there was nothing official between them.

"Would you be jealous if I did, hypothetically, take them up on the offer?"

Ren hummed for a moment in thought before answering his friend. "At bit, but if it's something you want to do then no one is going to stop you. Have some fun, enjoy yourself, so long as you come back alive. Your father won't kick his own ass after all." He laughed loudly, that contagious sort that had Gakushu soon following suit at the mental image.

"You have what, two weeks to decide anyway, even if you just sit down and watch movies you deserve a break you've been working hard.  I can make sure the recruits don't burn down the building for one day." He added giving Gakushu a teasing wink before noting down the date on his calendar, pausing for a moment upon realising the significance of that particular weekend. Looks like he'd have to find a suitable gift too.

*  *  *

Gakushu had decided after much debate to go, but when the day came and he’d dressed himself in a simple jeans and white shirt, he found himself pacing nervously almost all day.

Ren has all but thrown his single leather jacket, a gift from Ryuki after his fist fight with the gang’s dragon embroidered into the back, at his face telling him to just go already before it got too late. Affectionately slapping him in the ass with a quick ‘just try to enjoy yourself’ as the blonde haired male finally walked out the door.

Gakushu wore the leather still as it meant he could travel without need for a bodyguard. Common folk wouldn't bother you and other gangs tended to leave you alone for the most part. You pester one worker you awaken the hornets’ nest. The property destruction bill was never worth the trouble of one thug. While large they were very organised and protective of their own.

Despite no longer sharing ties with the large gang to the west, Ryuki had insisted he keep it as a token of good faith and that he was welcome back at any time.

Even now as Gakushu made his way across the borders he found it a little strange how comfortable he was in the homes away from home, particularly the Akabane household.

Next to his own residence with Sakakibara and the others, the Akabane home scored top on the home away from home, under that the lodging Ryuki provided when he was kicked out of home, followed the by the Asano family home and that in itself was largely due to it being home for so long and the presence of his mother whom had tried to support both her husband and son until paranoia and the need for approval pulled the family at its seams which only now was the fabric finally being fixed.

Gakushu found himself at Karma’s residence predominantly when the redhead wished to discuss business with him but was too lazy to even call his driver to meet at a usual spot.

'If you actually wanted me dead you would have does so by now.' He'd replied when Gakushu off handedly asked if Karma had a death wish inviting him over. Even if he had planned to kill the young yakuza leader he would be dead by morning or before he even drew his blade. Nagisa may have switched career to full time bodyguard and occasional substitute teacher but that didn't mean those deeply ingrained skills and reflexes wouldn't vanish overnight. Nagisa reassured him he kept his skills as sharp as his blades.

Right now the home was at the bottom of the list. What awaited him behind the closed door? He'd heard rumours of some of the things the duo got up to behind closed doors and if any of them were true he probably wouldn't survive the night. Even kisses seemed like a deadly option.

His mind raced at the potentials before forcing the train of thought to stop and allow him to remind himself he was under no obligation to take part, if he wanted this would just be a meeting of friends and nothing more.

Taking a breath and ringing the doorbell, Gakushu waited nervously as an absence of footsteps was heard before the door was opened.

Of course there were no footsteps when Nagisa was involved.

"You came!" The blue haired male beamed, opening the door more to let the other in.

Karma was in the kitchen drying the last of the dishes and putting them away. It was nearing 9pm by the time Gakushu had finally arrived, having stopped for dinner along the way. The store was skewed slightly closer to the Akabane’s rather than his own, shamelessly using that as a means to justify going on the basis Karma’s was closer.

Karma rounded the bench gesturing to the sofa in his typical black pants and three quarter sleeve combo with a short red sleeve shirt with open collar overtop for his days off. Nagisa on the other hand was clad in knee high cargo pants secured around his waist with a white star belt and a plain orange shirt under a sleeveless blue hoodie with yellow trim.

Closing the door and fastening the security chain, Nagisa soon made his way over to the sofa, leaning against the blonde haired male just enough to make his heart race. Nagisa hadn’t had an effect on him like this for so long it was a little startling how intense it was.

“So how is this going to work?” Gakushu inquired as Karma practically leaped over the back of the sofa to sit next to them, casually swinging an arm around his waist and breaking any conception Gakushu may have had of personal space with a cheerful smile.

“Depends on what you’re comfortable with.”

Nagisa ran feather light touch of fingers along his thigh causing his breath to hitch. “We can sit here and watch movies, maybe kiss.”

“Or maybe more.” Karma added with a careful tug at his ear and teasing squeeze of the other thigh.

“Oi, play nice Karma.” Nagisa scolded playfully and Karma’s grin simply grew with his reply.

“Don’t I always?”

“H-How about just kissing for now?” Gakushu interjected as his attempts to will down a blush failed.

“Banana is the safe word, and three taps with a hand is the safe gesture.” Karma continued waiting for both males to nod and voice they’d understood the rules before Nagisa deftly removed Gakushu’s spiked leather jacket, placing it carefully on the adjacent sofa before kissing the other’s cheek, making his way down and along his jawline before pressing their lips together.

It had been an eternity since he’d gotten to kiss Nagisa but his lips were still as soft as ever.

The next thing he knew Karma was nipping at the shell of his ear, paying particular attention to the lobe as he tried to draw out a sharp gasp allowing the smaller male to slip his tongue in. The faint clink of metal hit his teeth as he discovered Nagisa’s piercing, not that he could voice his surprise before Nagisa was pulling him down on top of him.

“Good?” Nagisa breathed and Gakushu could only moan in response. Louder still as his lithe fingers went straight for his pants, playing with the buckle before slipping them in to cup him through the fabric of his boxers.

“Still good?”

“Fuck... _yes_.” Came the breathily response as he couldn’t help but rock into that intoxicating pleasure. Karma couldn’t help but chuckle at how eager the two of them were being. He wanted to join in too.

Nagisa looped his legs around Gakushu’s waist, digging his knees into his back and drawing him closer still as he pulling himself up to peer over the blonde’s shoulder and instruct Karma to get the lube.

They’d brought down a bottle from the bedroom and chucked it in the drawer of the table earlier that day. With or without Gakushu the two had intended to go for a round or two. Karma still couldn’t quite hold out long enough to take a third right away but compared to his first sexual encounter with Nagisa, his stamina had improved significantly.

He was a little apprehensive of letting Gakushu join them, like Nagisa he shared a worry that the blonde’s earlier attraction to Nagisa might make him jealous and cause this night to crumble, but so far at least, Gakushu was happy to let the duo do all the work and he just tag along.

Nagisa’s legs shifted as Karma straddled the pair, catching Gakushu off guard for a second at being mounted before the protest was silenced under a loud, shamelessly _lewd_ , moan as the redhead’s teeth sank into his neck and he ground down into the bodies beneath him.

Next to Gakushu, Nagisa moaned the loudest. The bodies on top of him grinding against his already painfully hard cock drawing out a chorus of moans from the smaller that had Gakushu drawn like a moth to a flame, ignoring the fact Karma was dictating their actions and lost instead in the expressions of pleasure Nagisa made.

Unable to refrain himself, Gakushu gave in to his desire and peppered kisses along his neck before sinking his teeth into the pale skin and silencing his moans as Nagisa soon became undone beneath them.

“Are you okay?” Nagisa questioned breathlessly, face flushed and a thin line of drool falling from the corner of his mouth as Karma slipped off them and onto the sofa bed followed shortly after by an equally flushed and worried Gakushu.

“It’s just... It’s a little overwhelming. Are you okay?”

“Sorry to get on you like that.” The question was cut off as Nagisa shifted his legs closer to Karma. Reaching to undo his partner’s pants and slip them off to reveal a small remote strapped to his thigh and a cord riding up to disappear beneath his underwear.

“We wanted to get this done before you arrived, if you were going to,” He chuckled, tugging down the undergarments in a torturously slow way, maximizing the contact the wet fabric had against skin and catch on his already hardening cock as they joined the pants. Gakushu couldn’t help but blush furiously seeing Nagisa getting worked up so quickly again. “Nagisa enjoys the second round much more than the first.”

Gakushu quirked an eyebrow in confusion, ignoring the twitch of his excited cock as Nagisa all but _mewled_ at the lewd pop of the egg shaped vibrator being tugged out of his ass.

“Do you have any idea how hard it is to get him off the first time?” He chuckled, making a show of the toy as Nagisa hid his face in some form of second-hand embarrassment from his husband. “I’ve been toying with him for almost _half an hour_ now.”

“Half... an hour?” Gakushu would have believed it to be an exaggeration if Nagisa hadn’t righted himself to bury his face against Karma’s shoulder, giving off and embarrassed whine.

“You didn’t need to tell him how long and don’t exaggerate...” He whispered and honestly Gakushu thought it was the most adorable thing in the world. This was a side of Nagisa he’d never seen before. Instead of feeling envy towards Karma for getting to live with this every day, he felt honoured they had extended an invitation to be part of it, even if it was only a night.

Shifting in his spot he was reminded of his issue down below.

“Can we continue?” He tried to sound assertive while fixing the remaining fluff on the top of his head. The sides had begun to grow out again, he’d need to shave it again soon.

“And here I thought Nagi was eager.” Karma teased and Gakushu threw a pillow at him.

“Tug down your pants.” Nagisa offered as he stripped off his shirt, Karma beating them to the punch, already slicking himself with lube and tugging the smaller male into position. He slipped two fingers in with ease and he couldn’t help but stare at the way Karma’s fingers disappeared into his ass. Working his already slick insides open in preparation for what was to come.

“How do you want us, Nagi?” Karma purred close to Nagisa’s ear. “One on each end? Or both of us at once? Do you think you could handle it?”

A shiver of pleasure ran down his spine at the thought of being stretched so much by the two males, but the look in Gakushu’s eyes screamed he was in no way ready to take on such a task.

“One each, _ah_ , end. We can try that at a later date.”

“This isn’t a onetime thing?” Gakushu questioned before his brain could filter his mouth. He’d spent a lot of time pondering the idea of casual sex with the two of them like the kind he occasionally indulged in with Ren. He supposed he worried that lingering attachments would only cause trouble even if he was enjoying the attention from both of them. He wouldn't mind joining in every once in a while.

“Only if you want it to be.” Nagisa reassured and tugged him closer. Helping Gakushu the rest of the way out of his boxers and swiping his tongue over the slit.

The pleasure was short lived however as Karma removed his fingers and pushed in. Nagisa gasping high and loud as the face planted the ground. Moaning and rocking back eagerly against his hips.

“Karma, _more_.”

“Gakushu get over here.” Karma instructed and the male shuffled back close after being startled by Nagisa’s bedroom voice. Once close enough the smaller male practically _climbed_ his legs, holding his hips for a moment as he grew accustomed to the redhead’s movements before taking Gakushu into his mouth and swallowed.

Gakushu all but screamed as his fingers dug into Nagisa’s hair. Clinging to the short locks in a desperate attempt to ground himself as he bucked involuntarily into Nagisa’s mouth.

Karma was smiling like an idiot, it was the first time he’d seen Gakushu so wrecked it was kinda hot. He wanted to voice this but such conversation with Gakushu wasn’t the easiest so instead he leaned forward and hoped the short, almost sweet, kiss would speak for him.

“Tug his hair, he likes it.”

Nagisa glanced up from beneath his bangs and growled between them as he ran his teeth along the underside of Gakushu’s cock.

Gakushu tried to get a read from Karma’s eyes before giving the blue hair a gentle tug drawing out a hot moan that rumbled through his cock, sending a spark of pleasure up his spine. God Nagisa felt so good.

The angle too, he could see the every stroke of Nagisa’s cock in Karma’s hand, the way every thrust spread his bountiful ass, and every slap of their thighs, driving Nagisa further and further down his cock. Biting his lip Nagisa moaned again as his arousal grew in his mouth, he wasn’t going to last much longer.

The reactions on spurred the redhead on more as he quickened his pace, inviting the blonde to rock his hips too.

“Gah-Shu...” Nagisa pulled back just enough to speak. Saliva connecting Gakushu’s tip to his tongue.

“Move your hips too.” Karma’s voice was horse and broken as if he was the one sucking off another. “He can take it.”

Nagisa was looking up at him again in an almost pleading sort of way and it shattered whatever restraint he had left. Thrusting into that hot cavern, fingers digging into his hair, it was becoming increasingly difficult to hold his aching legs up.

Karma must have notice and smiled almost sweetly. Guess even Karma could make that kind of expression.

“Don’t hold back, he can swallow.”

But just as Nagisa was pulling back to scold Karma for his behaviour, Gakushu came on his face with a strangled gasp. Nagisa was stunned and Karma had to refrain from laughing as he distracted the smaller male from the cooling cum sliding down his face by fucking him harder.

Clinging to his pants Nagisa’s whines grew louder and hoarser until finally he reached his own climax, followed shortly by Karma in hot pants and weak laughs.

Nagisa all but collapsed in a trembling mess of ecstasy against the sheets, the buzz keeping him high as the air finally had a chance too cool his burning body.

Karma was the first to move, slipping his arms around Nagisa’s waist to pull him Nagisa close and licking off the cum splattered on his face before kissing him deeply, _lovingly_ , before nuzzling sleepily into the crook of Nagisa’s neck, growling like an angry kitten when the other insisted they get cleaned up before cuddling in bed.

Nagisa eventually gave up with a reluctant sigh and informed Gakushu where the spare clothes were kept. Gakushu couldn’t help but chuckle at Karma’s childish display but promptly got up to clean himself and change into borrowed singlet and pants before climbing back onto the sofa. It was still early by their standards but he wouldn’t mind a short nap. He didn’t feel like going home just yet.

The blonde male propped himself into the corner of the sofa before an offended grunt escaped Karma. With one eye lazily opened he gestured for the other to come closer until he could grasp the hem of his singlet and awkwardly pull him against Nagisa’s side.

When Gakushu finally got comfortable, one arm curled into his chest with the other swung over both their bodies, Nagisa tangled their legs and snuggled close until he was sufficiently wedged between both males. Purring contently as he let sleep claim him. Karma too was out like a light and Gakushu took a moment to appreciate the sight before him, the peaceful expressions and the rhythmic rise and fall of their breathing before he too began to doze off.

They’d all come a long way from their childish games.

He’d never felt quite so content until now.

“I wouldn’t mind doing that every once in a while.”

 

*  *  *

“Someone had fun last night.” Was Gakushu’s welcome home the next morning as Ren admired the array of hickeys that painted his neck, laughing to himself at how adorable the blonde was whenever he tugged at his collar in embarrassment trying to hide the events of the night before. It was a sign Gakushu had fun, the small blush and the awkward shifting was a dead giveaway to his enjoyment regardless of how vanilla or shameless it was.

Gakushu had gotten into the habit of telling Ren everything no matter how nervous the blonde was Ren had never let him down. He was just glad Gakushu enjoyed himself.

“I hope our arrangement on flirting is still permitted.” Ren continued, smirking as he tugged Gakushu’s white collar down to admire the purple marks.

It was an odd sense of comfort, the way Ren looked at him. Without judgement, full of care. He found a sense of closure in that expression, he doesn't need to be in a relationship to be loved.  His friend's won't leave him and if the likes of Ren, Nagisa, and Karma didn’t mind taking the teasing a little further to the sheets, he didn't mind that either.

“I’d be more disappointed if you stopped.” Gakushu admitted, smiling fondly.

 

 

**_The End_ **

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment if you enjoyed this fiction! :D


End file.
